Hexed Wolf
by IrishSmurph
Summary: Scooby and the Gang are back in OakHaven for the Autum Fest. But this time instead of a witch they have a werewolf. What are they going to do? And who is this mysterious woman named Jaguar?
1. A Streak in the Night

HEXED WOLF: A Streak in the Night  
  
AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com  
  
RATING: R  
  
PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course)  
  
DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú, though I wish I did.  
  
FEEDBACK: Welcome  
  
WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
A streak through the night was the only disturbance of the dark. A creature, not man nor creature ran through the trees. Trying to escape or chase something it was unclear but what was, was that it was running with all its spirit. A howl rolls over the forest, muffling out any sounds of the nightlife. Its face was contorted to what outsiders would see as an unrivaled fury but to those that now the language of the night, of the mood and appearances of the shadows, knew the real truth behind the look.  
As it came to just the edge of the woodland it stopped and looked out at the animals that were beyond. Drool dripped down its muzzle and like a lightening flash it darted from the shade and took its prey. 


	2. Hunter

HEXED WOLF: Hunter AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
The multicolored countryside awed the five pairs of eyes that looked upon it. Fall had arrived and with it the plethora of shades and beauty that grace the earth before the pale snow falls of winter.  
  
"Like, wow. This place just keeps getting more and more beautiful, man." A lanky hippy grinned.  
  
"Yeah. Shaggy can you get me my camera? I want to take a few pictures of all this."  
  
"Sure thing Daph." Shaggy set down the hamburger he was eating and rummaged through various bags. When he found a deep purple bag with the name 'Daphne Blake' in yellow lettering he pulled it into his lap and began to delve around. Pushing away cosmetics and clothes, and veering away from the underwear and bras Shaggy continued his search for the illustrious camera. "Here ya go." He took out the small item and handed it to her.  
  
"Thanks." The Heiress looked through the view, aimed and captured the splashes of gold, crimson and green. Everyone in the van was overwhelmed with the colors and peace surrounding the Massachusetts back road. And with the sun beginning to dip low the color seemed to intensify with the burning flame the sun created as it set.  
  
The driver, a tall, handsome blonde turned to glance at the small brunette next to him. "Hey Velma. Check the map and see how close we are to Oakhaven."  
  
The small woman pushed her glassed back up the bridge of her nose and looked at the atlas. After a moment of glancing between the world outside and its paper twin she piped up with; "We should almost be there Freddy." She folded back up the map and stuck it back into its clip on the visor. They rode along in silence for a short time, the only sound punctuating the piece was Daphne's camera snapping every so often.  
  
After almost three more hours of driving The Mystery Machine's head lights illuminated a sign that read 'Welcome to Oakhaven'.  
  
"Finally. Like, me and Scoob are ready to taste Jake's homemade Apple Cinnamon pie."  
  
"Ruh huh." Scooby nodded heartily, liking his all ready watering lips.  
  
"Oh you guys. You just ate no more then three hours ago." Daphne chuckled.  
  
"Yeah but, like, there's always room for pie."  
  
"Even after six hamburgers, three shakes and two large orders of fries?" Freddy looked in the rearview mirror.  
  
"Course."  
  
Freddy and the others shook their head but laughed good-naturedly. The blonde pulled the van into the turn off road and soon the lights of Oakhaven greeted the travelers.  
  
"Jenkies. Look at all those people."  
  
Cars choked the small street while people were scattered everywhere else. Freddy eased The Mystery Machine into a free space and everyone piled out. Honking horns and jovial chatter punctured the usually quiet twilight air.  
  
"This place is, like, packed, then it was last time, man."  
  
"Well the Hex Girls are playing." Daphne said. "Ever since Vampire Rock they've gotten really popular."  
  
"I wouldn't say really popular." An all too familiar voice drawled. The group turned around to see none other then the Hex Girls standing behind them. In their mouths were their infamous vampire fangs, which scared the living daylights out of Shaggy and Scooby.  
  
"Yipe!" Shaggy leapt into Scooby's arms.  
  
Thorn, Dusk and Luna laughed. "It's just us guys. There's no reason to be scared." Dusk said the last part in such a way that it made the man and dog shiver harder. Which in turn made the women laugh harder. "I'm sorry, guys. Couldn't resist."  
  
"We're not scared. Right Scoob?" Shaggy said as he climbed out of the Dane's arms. But his shaky voice didn't back what he said up in the lest.  
  
"Hey guys. Good to see you again." Fred smiled. The three women did the same.  
  
"Same here." Luna said.  
  
"So, you comin' to the concert?" Thorn asked.  
  
"Course." Daphne smiled. She looked at her watch. "Hey, why don't we get something to eat?"  
  
"Sure. We can go to my house. I'm sure my dad'll cook somethin' up for ya."  
  
A light sparked in Shaggy and Scooby's eyes. "Let's go."  
  
The entire group laughed. They turned and began to walk down the street, stopping frequently for kids looking for autographs or pictures.  
  
"It's, like, cool being well-known and all but sometimes it sucks." Luna said after the band signed their tenth autograph.  
  
"Look on the bright side. At least you know you're popular." Velma said.  
  
"Good point." They turned a corner and started back on their conversation from earlier.  
  
"So. You guys record an album yet?" Freddy inquired.  
  
"Yeah. Witch's Moon'll be out next month." Dusk answered with her usual half smile.  
  
"Can't wait to hear it." Daphne grinned. Just then Scooby's ears perked up. He stopped and turned his massive head from side to side.  
  
"What's up Scoob?" Shaggy asked. Scooby tried to catch the sound again but all he heard were the twilight winds blowing through the trees and the din of the people around. After a few more seconds he shook his head and started walking again.  
  
"So you guys solve any, like, supernatural mysteries since Vampire Rock?" Thorn asked.  
  
"Mysteries yes. Supernatural no." Fred explained.  
  
"A friend of mine in San Antonio had asked us to come down to solve a mystery. It turns out the ghosts of Indians where letting the cattle and horses loose and the help was disappearing. But it turned out only to be a mad ranch hand that my friend had let off."  
  
Again Scooby stopped; this time sure he defiantly heard something. It sounded like barking but he didn't smell any dog around.  
  
His thoughts were cut off by a loud scream from Shaggy. Everyone turned to him and saw him trying to get something white off his head.  
  
"What is that?" Freddy yelled.  
  
"Never mind that. Look at what's coming at us!" Dusk yelled, pointing ahead of them.  
  
Barreling towards them was the biggest dog any of them had ever seen. Its muzzle was pulled back in a vicious snarl with spittle flying back and hitting its ebony coat. It seemed to be chasing the small white animal.  
  
"Cerberus! Damn it dog!" A voice boomed. Every eye, including those of the surrounding people, tore away from the dog and to the source of the forceful yet feminine voice. They were met with a woman that was pushing 6 foot, had shoulder length hair that seemed almost silver in the moon's light and a hard but beautiful face.  
  
She finally caught up to her dog, which wasn't hard due to her long legs. She grabbed its collar and began to struggle to get it to pull back but it struggled to get loose from its master's grip. "Cerberus! Heel!" She boomed, making everyone jump and the dog quiet down. She let out a deep breath and brushed some freed hair from her dark eyes. "Sorry 'bout that. Sometimes the idiot over does it." A smile speared over her face, easing the group.  
  
"Um.excuse me." Shaggy's voice trembled slightly. The blonde looked over at him. When she saw his head she let out a small chuckle.  
  
"Ahh. Guess you don't like Nodier as a hat?" Shaggy shook his head. "Too bad. Looks good on you." She joked, picking up the fair-haired creature. As she brought it up to her face everyone saw that it was a White Tiger cub. "You need to stop runnin' off." The cub tried to bat her nose but the tall woman wouldn't budge. "Un uh, little man. That cute act didn't work before and it ain't gonna work now." She set him down on Cerberus's wide back. "Don't even think about running again." She growled as the cub made to jump off. Large brown eyes looked up at her but she only shook her head. "Nope. Now both ya'll get on home. I'll meet up with ya." The black dog nodded its broad head and trotted off. Jaguar watched the dog disappear before turning her dark eyes back to the others. Her smile returned in full. "So you all right?" The woman addressed Shaggy, who nodded. "That's good. Again sorry."  
  
Freddy stuck out his hand. "That's fine, Mrs." He trailed off, never having heard the woman's name.  
  
"Just call me Jaguar." She took the blonde man's proffered hand and shook it wholeheartedly.  
  
"Well Jaguar. I'm Freddy and this is Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne, Velma, Luna, Dusk and Thorn." As the names were said Jaguar shook proffered hands, pumping them gently or wholeheartedly, depending what she got in return. When she reached for Thorn's hand there was a tiny shock that passed between their fingertips but it wasn't unpleasant, just.a surprise.  
  
"Uh.my bad." Jaguar quickly retrieved her hand and stuffed it into the pockets of her leather pants. "So. What're you guys doing here?"  
  
"We're here to see the Autumn Fest." Daphne said.  
  
"And we're playing in it." Dusk added.  
  
"Can't wait to hear you three play. I," Jaguar was cut off as by someone calling out to her. She turned to see a woman running towards her. "What're you doing out of bed?" She demanded of the smaller woman when she was close enough.  
  
"I'm fine. Unh," She grabbed her side and collapsed. Before she could even hit the ground Jaguar caught her and held her close.  
  
"Yeah. You're just great Ro." Ro looked up into the blonde's piercing gaze and gulped, but tried to put on a smile any way. Didn't work. "You and your brother need to learn that smile don't work."  
  
"Can't blame us for tryin'." Ro stood up, the grimace an obvious sign to the pain that she was in.  
  
"I can when you've probably pulled stitches." Jaguar shook her head. "Ro what are you doing out here?"  
  
"I, ugh," Ro grabbed her side, not letting go even as the white blouse became red with blood.  
  
"My god. Are you all right?" Freddy asked.  
  
Ro gave a cocky grin while nodding. "No prob."  
  
"Why are you out here Ro?" Jaguar's voice was slightly impatient.  
  
"Oh right. The Mayor wanted to talk to you. He's at his house waiting for you."  
  
"Okay. Now go to the Doctor's and let him patch ya up."  
  
"No." The smaller woman's eyes flashed dangerously. "I won't do it."  
  
"Ro you gotta." Jaguar replied.  
  
"No."  
  
"Don't fight me on this Ro."  
  
"Then don't fight me." Ro crossed her arms defiantly. Jaguar sighed and shook her head. Nonchalantly she stuck her hands into the pockets of her leather pants. When her fingertips connected with cool metal she grasped on to it.  
  
"I'm sorry Ro. I wish I didn't have to do this."  
  
"Do wh," But Ro was cut off as the blonde whipped her hand out of her pocket and flung something at her. Ro hissed, as there was a sharp pain on her good side. She looked down to see a small dart. Knocking it away she glared at Jaguar, her eyes all ready glazing over. "You.bitch." She collapsed to the ground. Jaguar picked up the dart, stuffed it into another pocket then picked up the small woman. She shook her head sadly.  
  
"I'm really sorry Ro, but ya left me no choice." She turned to look at the others. They had stunned expressions on their faces.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Freddy asked.  
  
"I tranqed her." "She's not some kind of animal." Velma said.  
  
"Yeah well.I wasn't going to let her bleed to death. Maybe I'll see ya guys later." With that Jaguar spun on her heels and walked off, the long trench coat she was wearing billowing out behind her. People stopped and watched her go for a moment before turning back to their own task, though they did still whispered what they heard.  
  
"Come on guys." Dusk said slowly. "Let's, like, go get something to eat." She turned and began to walk to the house, the others soon following. All of them couldn't help but glance back over their shoulders, wondering who this mysterious woman named Jaguar was. And why did the Mayor need to see her so urgently that a hurt woman would come look for her.  
  
And why did me and her, like, have that weird connection? Thorn thought. She seemed to glance back more then the others but luckily she caught herself before anyone else did. Freddy and Daphne were a head of her, talking about a few cases and what not, while the others were talking about the Hex Girl's latest C.D. But the singer just couldn't shake the image of the woman from her mind's eye. What was it that attracted her to Jaguar? The deep eyes that seemed almost golden? The handsome smile? Or the air of power and mystery? Thorn hoped she would have a chance to find out.  
  
In the shadows of the trees a figure was crouched low as not to bring attention to itself. Blood was smeared across its muzzle and chest like a morbid kind of war paint. A wicked smile broke its jowls as dark eyes regarded the scene.  
  
"We shall meet again Hunter." Came a sleek, oily voice. The creature pulled back farther into the shadows, the trees barely rustling as it disappeared.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ So? What'd ya think? Feedback more then welcome. And I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish this.My brain was so fried from Finals that it wasn't working. Also sorry if this chapter sucks. 


	3. Murder

HEXED WOLF: Murder AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
Freddy, Thorn and the others stepped up to the door. The night air was crisp and ruffled whatever wasn't tied down.  
  
"So. My dad should still be up." Thorn glanced at Freddy's watch. "I hope." She knocked on the door and they waited for a few minutes before the door opened to show the elder father of Thorn.  
  
"Well hello Sally. And.everyone? What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"We came to get something to eat Mr. McKnight." Dusk said.  
  
"Come right in then. I'm sure we'll have enough space for all of you."  
  
Everyone stepped inside to be greeted with the warmth of a fire. Everyone sighed happily as they sat down in the front room. "Give me a bit and I'll wipe something right up." He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He kissed his daughter on the forehead then turned and walked into the kitchen. Scooby and Shaggy's mouths were all ready watering in anticipation.  
  
"Mm mm mm. Can't wait to have a real home cooked meal. It's been, like, awhile since we had one, ain't that right ol' buddy." Scooby nodded so vigorously he threatened to look like a bobble head.  
  
"Well. I'm just glad to be home." Thorn replied. She stood up from her seat on the couch and stretched. "I'll be right back. I have to go check something." She walked up the stairs and down the hall to her room. As she grabbed the doorknob she realized something was different. Looking up and across from her, the door leading to the guest bedroom was ajar. "Wonder who's here?" The singer walked across the narrow hall and nudge the wooden door opened. At first all she saw was complete darkness but when she turned on the light what she was made her gasp. Everywhere were the strangest things from jars full of weird concoctions to books that looked older then anything in the museums. "What the?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" A deep voice made the girl gasp and whirl around to stare at a large man. His skin was black, blending well with the jet-black hair on his head.  
  
"Whoa man. Where'd you come from?"  
  
"I asked first. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I, like, just saw the door opened and decided to see what was inside."  
  
"That's called snooping. Stay outta," But he was cut off as a small boy stepped behind him and laid a tiny hand on his large one.  
  
"What's going on Celeb?"  
  
"You shouldn't be here Nathaniel."  
  
"But I got scared." The boy whimpered. Celeb snorted but nodded.  
  
"All right. Sorry I left ya alone." He turned to look at Thorn. "Keep that nose of yours outta other people's business." And with that he turned and walked with the small boy down the stairs and out the door. Thorn stood there, shell-shocked.  
  
That was until she heard Luna's voice call out to her.  
  
"I'm comin'!" She called back. She shut the door tight before slowly walking back down the stairs. There was no sign of Nathaniel or Celeb, which suited Thorn just fine. That man creeped her out. She just wondered how they got into the house anyway.  
  
Jaguar walked quickly up the street towards Mayor Cory's house. She grimaced as she remembered the angered look on her friend's face when she had dropped her off at the doctors. Ro had woken up and began to thrash, no doubt ripping her stitches open even more but with a quick dart to the side the younger woman was out again.  
  
"I wish you'd learn Ro. If someone's hurt I'll do anything to help them. Even if it pisses them off." She whispered. She crossed the street and came to a stop at a large Victorian mansion. She pulled her hand from the warmth of her jacket and rang the doorbell. Inside she heard the ringing of the bell then silence then shuffling footsteps. The door opened to show a tiered Mayor. Dark circles marred the skin under his eyes that once were lively now looked like they belonged to an old man. Though when he saw who was ringing a smile broke his lips.  
  
"Ahh, Jaguar. Come in, come in."  
  
"Hello Mayor Cory. Rose said you needed to talk to me?" The smile disappeared.  
  
"Yes. There was another attack. Come into the front room and we'll talk."  
  
"All right." Jaguar followed the man into the next room where there was all ready a man standing by the fireplace, looking deep into the flames as though in a trance. "Hello Sheriff Wood."  
  
The man jerked slightly, startled by the voice. When he turned and looked at the woman he gave a small smile. "Hello Jaguar." The three sat down. Jaguar sat down on the large red and green chair while the Mayor and Wood sat on the sofa across from her. She set her ankle on her knee and stared at the two men.  
  
"All right. So what happened?"  
  
The Sheriff cleared his throat and pulled out a manila folder, which he slid over to Jaguar. For a moment there was silence as she thumbed through it. Her voice was stiff and business like when she finally did speak.  
  
"Okay. Like last time I want to know the basics. Who was the body? Where was it found? Who found it and when was the last time the person was saw alive?"  
  
Sheriff cracked a smile. "Are you a detective or a Hunter?"  
  
The corners on the woman's lips raised a fraction. "Sometimes you gotta be both. Now back to the body."  
  
"Right. The corpse was one Megan Griffith. She left behind a Husband, Max, and a small boy, Kenneth."  
  
Jaguar felt her eyes furrow. "How old is the boy?"  
  
"Umm...almost five if I remember right."  
  
"Was he the one to find her?" Without looking up the blonde felt the men's wide eyes.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"The mother and child have...a bond, if you wanna call it that. When somethin' ever happens, somethin' bad usually, the child wants to find the mother and help her. Kenneth probably sensed that somethin' was wrong with his mother and wanted to find out what."  
  
"But...he's only a little boy." Cory stammered.  
  
Jaguar laughed and shook her head. "So. The love of a mother and child knows no bounds...or some philosophical crap like that." She tucked the folder into her jacket and stared at the men. "Now. We have the whos, I just need the where and when."  
  
"Well from what Max has told me he last saw her when she went outside to take their retriever for a walk. She was found two hours later in a small clearing near the edges of the woods."  
  
"No one heard her?"  
  
"No." Wood shook his head sadly.  
  
Jaguar sighed and nodded. "All right. I'll go check it out. Where's the spot?"  
  
"Just south of the old Puritan Village."  
  
"Okay. Good night Mayor Cory. Wood." She nodded her head, turned and left, disappearing into the night. Both Mayor and Sheriff watched her go then turned to look at each other.  
  
"So. Do you think that she can stop these killings?"  
  
"She was highly recommended."  
  
"By who?"  
  
"I don't know. It was an anonymous tip." Cory stood up. "I guess we should call it a night Doug. It's in her hands now."  
  
Wood stood up. "Okay. See you later Mayor."  
  
"Good bye."  
  
Jaguar stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked quickly to the old village. The wind was biting cold now and the Hunter felt it rub against her cheeks like sandpaper.  
  
"Goddamn. Hate the cold. Hate winter." She grumbled. Now that it was nearly midnight everyone was inside. Save for a few teenagers that wanted to show that they could do whatever they wanted. Jaguar laughed at their amateur bravery. "If they knew the truth of what lays in the shadows they wouldn't even think about comin' out here on their own, during the night." She shook her head and kept going.  
  
"Jaguar." The voice stopped the older woman in her tracks. That wasn't a regular human voice. It was more of a voice on the winds. She quickened her paces, knowing that now would not be a good time to get into a fight with anything supernatural. So the quicker she got to the town the better. "Jaguar." Now the woman broke out into a full run.  
  
Something was wrong here. Only one thing frightened her but he was supposed to be dead. How could he be...talking to her? "No time for questions just haul your ass there." She growled to herself. The ground under her was not felt because she almost flew. Her speed was what some would call super-human but in her world it was simply quick. Sometimes though Jaguar felt it wasn't fast enough. At least, not when it came to him. The one...creature that sent shivers of cold fear down her spine, froze her blood and made her feel hapless and weak. "Damn it girl. He's gone. Stop thinking that and slow down. You're almost there." The Hunter willed her legs to stop and when she finally did sure enough she was at the old Puritan Village. The acrid smell of smoke and burning wood hit her first but she ignored those and paid attention to the single smell underneath. A smell she knew all to well after years in this business. The smell of blood.  
  
"All right. Enough of the melodramatics girl," Jaguar snapped at herself. She made it quickly to the spot that the Mayor and Wood had described. But what she saw there made even her stone heart skip a beat.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A bit of a cliff hanger I know. **shrugs** But anticipation is half the fun. Feedback is, as always, welcome. C-ya later! 


	4. Surprising Houseguests

HEXED WOLF: Surprising Houseguests AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
Jaguar's senses reeled at the smell of so much blood. It was practically everywhere within a ten foot radius of where the actual killing had occurred. Flesh had scattered here and there like some macabre quilt. A killing didn't occur here. It was a slaughter. Nothing she'd ever seen would do something like this.  
  
"What's going on?" Jaguar walked slowly forward and began to search around. To someone that wasn't trained all this would simply look like were pools of blood and gore. But her years of fighting and searching have taught her the skills to look under the horror to find the truth. "And that's exactly what I plan to do." She stepped to the outer edges of the blood-spattered circle and set down her bag. She also slipped off her coat, revealing a large sword called a falchion and a large blaster. She straitened while closing her eyes. Her mind was warring. 'Not fully. Just enough were my senses will be sharper. No full transformation!' She felt the familiar stretch as her mind became sharper, allowing her sense of smell, hearing and sight to become what it truly is. "Perfect." She growled. Turning she began to walk around, looking for anything that'll clue her in on what the killer was, any scents that would help, something that would lend a hand into getting this case rolling.  
  
Luckily she found it not too far from trees. Floating in a pool of blood were four strands of hairs; two, more then likely belonged to Megan; one to the retriever and the last one belonged to neither animal nor man. "Bingo." A cocky half smile lifted on her lips as she went back to her bag and got out a pair of tweezers and a small vile. Finding the neither man nor animal hair once more Jaguar picked it up with the tweezers and placed it gently in the vile. She wiped off the small metal object then stood up, grimacing slightly as her left knee popped quiet audibly. "It's been needin' to do that for awhile now but shit."  
  
"Talking to yourself Hunter?" A voice growled, startling the woman. Jaguar stuffed the jar into her pocket then whirled around, pulling the falchion free from its sheath.  
  
"Show yourself."  
  
"Gladly." A figure slid from the shadows. In its claws was a still writhing body.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You can call me Dredge, human.  
  
"Drop the body beast."  
  
"Beast? You'd dare call me a beast." The creature looked shocked.  
  
"Yeah. Drop the body or I'll kill ya." She raised her blade so it was level with Dredge's chest. "And I don't make empty threats."  
  
Yellow eyes bore into her golden ones as he growled; "You wouldn't."  
  
"Try me." Dredge moved farther into the moonlight. Jaguar studied the creature quietly, assessing her opponent. His body was almost entirely muscle, covered with a brownish red fur.  
  
"So. Are you goin' to drop the body or am I going to have to cut off your arm?"  
  
The werewolf grinned evilly before tossing the body away. "Happy now?"  
  
"Shut up and prepare to die."  
  
"You think you can seriously hurt me? You're only human."  
  
"I'll give it my best." Jaguar gave a brash smile.  
  
"If you say so." His jowls changed from a grin to a snarl as he lunged at her, catching her around the waist and pushing her back. Stars burst in front of the Hunter's eyes when the back of her head came in contact with the hard earth but she was quickly able to regain her bearings. Her fingers clutched the hilt of her sword in a vicious grip and with one strong swing she struck the temple of the wolf with the hilt of her sword, knocking him off of her.  
  
"Nice shot. That's the only one you'll be getting in."  
  
"I doubt that." Dredge growled before disappearing into the shadows. Jaguar whirled around, listening carefully to any sound that could tip her off to her opponent's position. Nothing came.  
  
'Damn it Jag. You gotta get your head into this. Focus!' She berated herself. Stopping the woman dropped her hands to her sides and listened. For a moment there were only the sounds of the trees rustling and the grass shifting but nothing out of the ordinary. 'Wait! Behind you.' She whirled around in time to get claws to the stomach. She stumbled backwards and hit the ground. "Okay. Focus harder." She stood up, ignoring both the pain in her stomach and the throbbing in her head, and focused like before. This time she could hear things that she didn't hear last time. This time she was ready when the werewolf emerged once more. She whirled around, bringing her sword arm up and cutting off the creature's arm. It hit the ground with a sickening thud as its old master let out a loud, long howl that punctured the air.  
  
"Damn you bitch."  
  
"No need for complements here buds. Won't save ya." Jaguar's voice was confident dispite the pain destroying her senses.  
  
"Ungh." He threw his arm up and smoke sprouted from his palm, covering the woman's vision.  
  
"Shit."  
  
After three hours of eating, catching up and laughing the Mystery Gang decided to find a hotel to stay the night and Dusk and Luna decided it was time to go home. "It was great to see you guys again." Mr. McKnight waved.  
  
"Good to see you too, sir." Freddy called back.  
  
"See you tomorrow sisters." Thorn said.  
  
"See you tomorrow Sister Thorn." Dusk and Luna called back.  
  
Thorn closed the door and both her and her father sighed. "Well. Today's been a good day. My daughter is back and I got to meet old friends again."  
  
"Awe, come on dad. Don't get all mushy." Thorn said playfully. They walked into the kitchen to clean the dishes when Thorn remembered a question she had earlier. "Oh. Who's in the guest bedroom, across from my room?"  
  
Mr. McKnight face scrunched in confusion before it dawned on him. "Oh, a woman by the name of...oh what was it. It was a strange name." The old man tapped his bottom lip. "What was it?"  
  
Just then the door flew open and a voice boomed out. "Jaguar!"  
  
"That's it." Mr. McKnight said happily. Thorn shook her head before turning back to the main entrance. A very, VERY pissed off Rose thundered in.  
  
"All right. Is she here?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Jaguar, damn it."  
  
"No. After she tranqed you she, like, left." Thorn replied.  
  
"If she gets back before I do then tell her watch out." Rose growled through gritted teeth.  
  
"You live here Ro?"  
  
"Yeah." Rose stopped for a moment, thinking. She looked at Thorn, stared at her pointedly but looked away. "All right. I'm gonna go look for her."  
  
"But you're, like, hurt."  
  
"I'm fine. But now's not the time to discuss all this." Rose turned and stormed outside.  
  
"I'm glad that she's up and about. Kind of surprises me that she is though."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, when she and her friend, Jaguar, came here yesterday that girl was barely conscious. Jaguar was carrying her.  
  
"What was wrong with her?"  
  
"Dunno. All I saw was her side was pretty torn up."  
  
"Really?" Thorn raised an etched eyebrow. Her father nodded. Thorn turned back to the door. If what her father was saying was real then Rose should still be unconscious but the woman was up and walking around. How?  
  
Jaguar looked around wildly but only saw endless clouds of smoke. "Coward! Trying to hide from me?"  
  
"No."  
  
The Hunter knew that if she weren't to concentrate she'd be a sitting duck. 'All right. Clear your mind. Remember what you've learned. Forget everything and focus on the sounds around you.' She let her chin fall to her chest, her hands to her chest and she closed her eyes. Sensitive hearing picked up on her ragged breathing as well as the shuffling footsteps of the monster. He was going in circles, waiting to attack, looking for an opening. Dredge circled to the rear and made a lunge for her back but Jaguar whirled around in time to stab the creature in the stomach. He howled again, this time louder and stumbled back. As he fell quickly to the earth Jaguar let go of the falchion and pulled out her gun then fired. The shot rang through the air, piercing like a knife. Followed soon by the werewolf's final howl of pain. As it lay there writhing in pain Jaguar pulled the blade from his belly and stared down at him. Large yellow eyes glared up at her in both anger and shock.  
  
"You're not human."  
  
"What's your point?" The Hunter growled as she leveled her gun and fired, shooting the werewolf right between the eyes and killing it instantly. "But I still have humanity. Which is more then I can say for some of your kind." She cleaned her sword, sheathed it then holstered her gun. "Least I can do is give ya a proper burial. But first I gotta look at the mess you made." She turned and began to walk around. The smoke was now starting to disappear like a mist, revealing once again the blood bath. "I have a shit load to go through." She growled. As the adrenaline in her body disappeared it was replaced with the dull ache of her stomach and head. "Damn werewolf." She glared at the body before turning back. Because of the pain she had some trouble concentrating but knew that if she wanted to get this down then she'd have to focus twice as hard.  
  
Rose walked into the clearing to see that Jaguar was hunched over something. For a moment she was confused by the many scents but she stopped and thought for a moment before the smells were not so puzzling.  
  
"What do you want?" Jaguar's voice startled the woman. Rose puffed out her chest angrily and stormed forward.  
  
"How dare you tranq me. You had no right."  
  
"I didn't want you dead, Ro." Jaguar stood up and turned but she stumbled. "God ugh," The Hunter grabbed her stomach.  
  
All anger drained from Rose to be replaced with concern. She rushed forward and helped her friend to sit down on some clear ground. "What happened?"  
  
"Nothin' you need to...worry 'bout...Rose." Jaguar's voice had become ragged.  
  
"Yeah right." Rose ripped the woman's hands away from her stomach and gasped at the sight. The shirt was saturated with blood and completely tattered. "Jesus good lord almighty!"  
  
"It's not that bad."  
  
"Don't pull that macho shit with me Jag. I know when something is bad and this is bad." She helped the woman to stand. With one hand she awkwardly grabbed her bag and coat before walking quickly away.  
  
"I can walk."  
  
"And I can fly really." Rose said sarcastically. "Just shut up and let me help you." She grunted. Jaguar defiantly was heavier then her but she wasn't going to let Jaguar suffer.  
  
"If you won't let me go then let's just go home."  
  
"But we need to get those scratches patched up."  
  
"I'll be fine once I get home. You know that and I know that."  
  
"But,"  
  
"No." Jaguar made to pull away but rose kept a tighter hold around her waist.  
  
"Uh un. I should tranq you and take you to the Doctor's but I can't carry you when you're knocked out. So let's go to the house."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Another chapter done. Sorry if this chapter sucks, I haven't been able to sleep for some time but I'll try to make it up in the next chapter. C-ya later. 


	5. Stitched with Love

HEXED WOLF: Stitched with Love AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
The topmost window of the old house opened to reveal a tiered Thorn. Her hair was slightly tousled from tossing and turning and her eyes were hooded but the cold night air whipped through her, waking her up. "Why can't I sleep? I'm, like, tiered as hell but for some reason I can't sleep." She leaned against the windowsill and looked up. The moon cast pale light over the world, with the stars twinkling behind it merrily. "How anything can be merry at this time of night is beyond me." The singer was about to turn and take another try at trying to sleep when a movement caught her eye. Two figures were coming towards the house. They stayed in the shadows but when they came closer they moved into the pale light of the moon. Thorn squinted her eyes and gasped to see Rose and Jaguar. Rose seemed to be helping Jaguar to walk. For some reason the taller woman's shirt seemed to gleam around the stomache area. The singer watched as the two women walked up to the house, inside and up the stairs.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ya know you could have helped me walk up these stairs." Rose grunted, slightly winded from their little escapades up the stairs.  
  
"Hey. I thought you could handle lil ol' me." Jaguar gave an amused grin.  
  
"One. You are not little. Two. I never said that. I said I'd help you."  
  
"Okay. To make up for it I'll walk the rest of the way."  
  
"There's only, like, three more feet!" Rose whined. Jaguar stifled a laugh.  
  
"Yes but that's three feet you won't have to help me."  
  
"Why you," Rose made a lunge for the woman but ran into the wall. "Ooof." Jaguar stifled a laugh as she popped her head out of the room.  
  
"Still aren't that fast."  
  
"Shut up." Rose growled.  
  
~*~  
  
Thorn listened to the playful banter between the two women. She smiled, thinking of herself, Dusk and Luna. They'd known each other since sixth grade. They were inseparable, especially after Dusk's father died of a heart attack in the eight grade. She remembered with a wide smile, the first time they'd ever decided to put together a band. It was fun but hard work trying to put together lyrics to sing and money to buy instruments. Now, five years later, they've got a record deal and are known worldwide. "God this is like a dream." She smiled. That's when she heard a loud, long howl rip through the peace. Thorn turned to look at the still open window. The wind sweeping in was laced with something. Some secret that would only reveal itself to the right one.  
  
The singer walked back over to the window and leaned out to catch the latches. That was when she noticed something dart from the house. Something pure white and large.  
  
"What the," She quickly closed the window and turned back to the door. Listening intently she heard nothing but silence.  
  
That is until there was a loud crash. Thorn bolted out her door and across the hall. Her father made it to her just as she was about to knock.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I don't know daddy. I was just about to knock."  
  
"Come in." Jaguar's voice sounded strained. Thorn opened the door then turned on the light to see Jaguar on the floor, a large pack on her stomach.  
  
"What happened?" Mr. McKnight asked as he and Thorn helped Jaguar to get the pack off her.  
  
"Slipped." The Hunter growled. She turned away quickly, slinging the pack over her shoulder and walking to her bed.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, Mr. McKnight. Really." Jaguar said over her shoulder.  
  
"All right. If you're sure." He said hesitantly.  
  
"I am. Now good night."  
  
The man nodded and walked out the door. Thorn made to follow him but closed the door instead.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"You're not fine. You're hurt."  
  
"It's nothing."  
  
"Is that why Rose was helping you to walk?"  
  
"Thought you saw that." The blonde's voice sounded bemused. She turned to look at the raven-haired woman. "It's no big deal. Just ran in with the...local wildlife."  
  
Thorn looked at the woman's stomach and gasped. "That's nothing you get from anything around here."  
  
"Hey. Some of these raccoons can get pretty vicious."  
  
"Not buying it. Let me see the cuts. Maybe I can help."  
  
"You don't have to." Jaguar tried to protest.  
  
"No I don't. But I want to." Thorn stepped closer and gently took hold of the woman's black shirt. "Now are you going to take it off or I'm I going to have to do it for you?"  
  
Jaguar felt her ears heat up, both from the statement and the proximity of the one girl that made her dizzy with emotion. "Uhh," She shook her head and lifted up her shirt, throwing it to the side when she was done.  
  
Thorn broke eye contact with the Hunter to look down at the damage. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the gashes.  
  
"Good god." She ran her fingertips just on the outer edge of the rings of blood. "Defiantly nothing around here could tear someone up this bad."  
  
"It's no big deal." Jaguar said again, thanking the blood for covering up her goose bumping flesh.  
  
"Why haven't you had these looked at?"  
  
"Because it's late. The Doc's place is closed."  
  
"I'll stitch 'em up for ya if you want." Thorn said without even thinking. She looked back up into golden eyes.  
  
"Why would you do that?"  
  
"Because if you don't you may, I dunno, die."  
  
"I'll be fine."  
  
"No you won't." Thorn grabbed Jaguar's hand, smiling inwardly at the feeling it sent through her, and led her over to the bed. "Lay down and I'll get the things I need."  
  
"You don't have to do this."  
  
"We've been through this before." Thorn locked eyes with the older woman, surprising her with how much caring there was in the emerald eyes. "I want to."  
  
"Can you even?"  
  
"Since my dad was a pharmacist he hung out with the Doc a lot. So did I. Dr. Williams taught me how to do it. Don't worry." With that she turned and walked quickly out. Jaguar listened silently as the woman moved downstairs, rummaged through the kitchen, pause then come back up stairs. In her hands was a needle and thread.  
  
"You wouldn't by chance have any pain killers or booze do ya?" Jaguar asked, eyeing the needle.  
  
"No. Sorry."  
  
"That's fine." The Hunter looked around and found her leather belt. She grabbed it and folded it. "Guess I'll have to bite down on this."  
  
"I'm sorry we don't have anything that can really help." Thorn said as she sat beside the tall woman.  
  
"It's fine." Was all Jaguar said before sliding the leather into her mouth and biting down hard on it.  
  
"Ready?" Jaguar only nodded. Thorn took a breath then proceeded to stitch up the wounds.  
  
Every time skin was broken Jaguar flinched but made no sound, only averting her eyes from the scene. Thorn on the other hand was focusing intently. When Dr. Williams had taught her she was practicing on a dummy, not a real life thing. She just hoped she did all right.  
  
She also hoped that Jaguar would be all right. The woman wasn't making a sound but her eyes said enough. This was causing her a great deal of pain.  
  
'Guess her threshold for pain is higher then most people.' Thorn thought. She tried to quickly finish up the stitching but without being sloppy. She knew that if she didn't do this right then Jaguar could end up with major scarring.  
  
Jaguar's teeth dug into the leather. The all too familiar taste of cowhide mixed with the slight traces of blood. When the first entry had been made she had bitten her tongue hard enough to draw blood. She tried to focus on something else. Her eyes roamed around the room but finally simply landed on Thorn. The singer was focusing so intently on the wounds it surprised Jaguar. Deft hands moved over the tattered flesh smoothly, making confident incisions.  
  
'She's not to bad at this.' Jaguar thought with a smile, though it quickly turned into a grimace as the needle entered again.  
  
"All right." Thorn said quietly. "I think that's it." She tied off the thread as best as she could, bent down and bit off the access with her teeth. Jaguar gulped at the feeling of Thorn's soft hair and hot breath on her skin.  
  
'Relax.' Jaguar kicked herself mentally while Thorn stood up and walked into the adjoining bathroom. The Hunter listened to the running water, wishing she could take a cold shower. Being a Hunter had taught herself to keep her cool under any condition but right now that reserve was slowly breaking, crumbling and melting under Thorn's gentle fingers and hot breath.  
  
"You going to be all right now Jaguar?" The singer's smooth voice snapped her out of her reverie.  
  
Jaguar shook her head mentally before looking at the woman that was destroying her well-planted walls. "What?"  
  
"I said are you going to be all right?"  
  
"Yeah...I-I'm fine." Jaguar sat up just as Thorn sat down. Their faces were scant inches away. Jaguar looked up into Thorn green eyes and felt herself stop. Their eyes locked and neither moved. The Hunter breathed in deep, catching the feint smell of leather and perfume from the woman in front of her. Both could practically feel the unresolved passion in the air between them.  
  
"Jaguar." Thorn breathed. Inch by inch the two moved closer together, until their lips met in a hesitant kiss. A shock passed between them, making them pull back suddenly but as soon as they separated their lips craved another kiss.  
  
Thorn felt as if she had just jumped into a pool of icy fire. Her whole body was tingling, especially her lips. 'I can't believe I got that kind of sensation from just a kiss.'  
  
Unknowingly to the woman, Jaguar was feeling the exact same way. 'I've kissed girls before but...I've never gotten a reaction like that.'  
  
They moved closer again and this time, when lips touched lips, there was more certainty, more passion. Jaguar wrapped an arm around Thorn's waist and pulled her down into her lap as the singer entangled her long fingers in the woman's platinum hair. Jaguar's tongue snaked out and traced Thorn's bottom lip, tasting the traces of lipstick and lip-gloss. Thorn willingly opened her mouth and soon the two's tongues danced and rubbed against one another. If not for their need to breath the two would have continued that electrifying kiss.  
  
"Wow." Thorn breathed, her lungs crying out for oxygen. Jaguar only nodded as their eyes locked once more. Silent words passed between the two as they came together for another kiss. They were so wrapped up in each other that neither saw the figures standing at the door, peering in through the crack.  
  
~*~  
  
"What are they doing?" Nathaniel asked.  
  
"Shh." Rose hissed. "You shouldn't be seeing this Nathan. Go on. Shoo." Nathaniel stepped back but didn't leave. Celeb took his place, scowling darkly.  
  
"That woman is nothing more then trouble. She was snooping in our room today."  
  
"You're just pissed 'cuz she got by ya. I told ya you should lock the door."  
  
"I didn't know that people would go noising about!"  
  
"Will you shut up!" Rose hissed again. She pushed the tall black man and Nathaniel down the hall and down the stairs. When they reached the front room Rose spun Celeb around. "Get this Celeb. Jaguar seems happy. You and I both know it's been a long fucking time since she's been happy. Ever since that incident with Cú she's fuckin' cut herself off from all of us. Now if you go and mess that up for her I swear I'll change and tear you to shreds."  
  
"You wouldn't dare." Celeb hissed back.  
  
"I would. I promised that I'd repay Jaguar back no matter what and if that means she's happy then I'll do it."  
  
"But not at the cost of one of my friends." A gruff voice replied. Rose yelped in surprise and whirled around. There standing at the foot of the stairs was a slightly irked Jaguar.  
  
"Jag! What are you doing down here? I-I thought you were asleep." Rose stuttered.  
  
"Stop lyin'. I wasn't asleep and you well now it. Hey Nathaniel." Jaguar bent down and picked the boy up, wincing at the pain in her stomach. As she straitened her golden eyes locked onto those of Celeb and Rose. "If you guys wanna spy on someone you had best not yell like you two were."  
  
Both looked down at their feet in shame and embarrassment. Jaguar shook her head and walked forward. "It's all right." She laid a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Thank you for wanting to stand up for me." Her hand traveled to Celeb's. "And thank you for wanting to protect me. You guys are good friends. You just gotta polish a few skills is all."  
  
"Thanks...Jaguar." The younger woman mumbled. She looked up. "But...what about,"  
  
"Thorn?" Jaguar finished for her friend. Rose nodded hesitantly. "She went back to her room. Tomorrow we're going to have a talk."  
  
"What are you going to talk about?" The black man asked.  
  
"Quiet a few things."  
  
"Are you going to tell her about your past?"  
  
"Dunno. I don't want to."  
  
"Why?" Nathaniel asked. Jaguar looked into the boy's innocent brown eyes and sighed.  
  
"Because Nat...there are some things in my past that if she found out Thorn would hate me for."  
  
"Like what you are?" Rose asked. Jaguar turned to look at her in shock.  
  
"Wh,"  
  
"Jaguar. You're ashamed of what you are. You need to embrace it. Not fear it."  
  
"I don't fear anything." The Hunter growled as she let the boy down.  
  
"Then why don't you change? Why don't you let your animal side out to run free?"  
  
"Because I," But Jaguar couldn't bring herself to finish. She turned away and screwed her eyes shut, willing away the screams that filled her ears or the wash of crimson that flooded the darkness of her mind.  
  
"Jaguar. Don't let that stop you. Stop letting you fear control you." The blonde spoke gently. Jaguar whirled around and glared down at the woman.  
  
"I'm not afraid and nothing controls me!" She snapped. Rose shrunk away from the woman's fury and gulped. Jaguar turned and stormed back upstairs then slammed the door shut. The small woman straitened.  
  
"You shouldn't have brought that up Ro."  
  
"I know Cel. I know but she has to get past that fear."  
  
"Why is Jaguar afraid to change? It's fun." Nathaniel smiled broadly. Rose bent down and picked her little brother up.  
  
"Because little one. Jaguar fears that if she changes she might not be able to change back."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~As I wrote this story I realized it is a little weird...okay really weird that Thorn can stitch people up. If ya wanna flame me about it not fitting go ahead. I DON'T CARE!! It worked with the story. Also if you don't like the love between Thorn and Jaguar you have two options; ONE: Stop reading and leave. Or TWO:...Which is the same as one. 


	6. Help for the Hired Help

HEXED WOLF: Help for the Hired Help AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome  
  
The morning sun hit Daphne in the back, warming her flesh. She sighed and burrowed deeper into the strong arms that held her.  
  
"Morning." A deep voice whispered. The heiress looked up into the warm eyes over her lover and long time friend. Fred's blonde hair was rumbled adorably and his lips were split into a gentle smile.  
  
"Morning Freddy."  
  
Freddy kissed her tenderly and pulled her closer. "I really don't want to get up." The man mumbled into his girlfriend's hair.  
  
"Neither do I but," Daphne was cut off by a knock on the door.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Fred groaned.  
  
Daphne laughed at her lover's frustration. "Who is it?"  
  
"Ms. Blake? It's Sheriff Wood. I need to talk to you and Mr. Jones and the rest of your party."  
  
"All right. Hold on." Both grudgingly got out of bed and got dressed. Glancing back Freddy made sure that Daphne was dressed before opening the door. The forty-year-old man on the other side looked tiered and wired at the same time.  
  
"How can we help?"  
  
"You and the rest of the Mysteries Inc. need to come with me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"There's a mystery and the Mayor and I need your help."  
  
"A mystery?" Velma piped up, obviously excited about the prospect of another case. She, Shaggy and Scooby were dressed and ready to go.  
  
"Yes. If you come with me then I'll tell you everything." Wood said.  
  
"Okay. Let's go guys." Freddy said.  
  
~*~  
  
At the Victorian home of Mayor Cory the Mysteries Inc. gang sat around the fireplace and waited for someone to explain. It was Wood who spoke up first. The man stepped forward and cleared his throat.  
  
"For the past few nights there has been a string of...killings."  
  
"Killings?" Shaggy and Scooby gulped. They darted for the door but Freddy and Velma stopped them.  
  
"Un uh, guys. You're not going to run off at this point." Velma smiled as she pulled them back. "Now Sheriff Wood. What kind of...killings do you mean? Like animals or," The woman was afraid to say the next part.  
  
"There have been both, sad to say. Mayor Cory has told me of your expertise in solving mysteries and since we can't seem to find our other...help. We decided to enlist you."  
  
"Who's your other help?" Daphne asked.  
  
"That's something that we're not allowed to say." Mayor Cory said. Just then the door burst open and an exhausted but primed Jaguar stood in the doorway.  
  
"Mayor Cory. Sorry that you weren't able to get a hold of me. I had some," She glanced over her shoulder momentarily. "Communications problems." She stepped inside, to soon be followed by Rose, Cerberus and Nodier. All four walked into the front room. The Hunter stopped short when she saw the others. "What are you guys doin' here?"  
  
"Sheriff Wood had asked us to help with some killings that have been happening." Velma explained. Jaguar's eyes flashed to the Sheriff then back at the group.  
  
"All right." Jaguar walked forward. "Under one condition. And I'm not sayin' this to be rude or anythin' like that. If you find anything you come right to me. Is that understood?" The group nodded nervously. Jaguar noticed this and added quickly, "I only want to know everything so I can keep it in order. That's all. Okay. Now that we have that outta the way you can get filled in," She looked pointedly at the Sheriff. "On 'some' of the details."  
  
Wood nodded in understanding, knowing well not to cross the woman. She alone was formidable enough but with that black dog she was nothing short of deadly. He remembered the first time he met the woman, when one of his deputies had gone against her orders. First Jaguar had pinned him to the wall and snapped at him then Cerberus had come over and scared the living daylights out of the young lad. That was the last time anyone crossed her.  
  
"Anyway. Let's get on with this." Cory replied.  
  
Velma watched Jaguar from the corner of her eyes, noting the Hunter's stiff movement and twitchy stance.  
  
"All right. As I've said there have been a string of killings. Three so far."  
  
"Three?" Jaguar straitened quickly but hide the grimace that threatened to give away her weakened state.  
  
"Yes." Wood nodded. "We tried to get a hold of you earlier but Rose said that you were out."  
  
"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that." Jaguar growled as she thumped Rose on the ear. The smaller woman yelped and grabbed the side of her head. Wood chuckled as grabbed a manila folder from off the kitchen table and walked back into the other room. He gave the closest person, Freddy, the folder then stepped back. Freddy looked nervously at the folder. Over the years they'd done burglaries, a few kidnappings and whatnot but never a murder. But he had made a promise years back to help whoever asked for it. "The victim was a woman by the name of Elizabeth Doran. She lives by herself but is well loved. She was found near where Megan was found."  
  
"Who's Megan?" Daphne asked.  
  
"Another victim." Jaguar simply stated. The redhead glanced over at the blonde then back at the sheriff and seeing that she would get nothing more, sighed and looked at the folder over her boyfriend's shoulder. Inside was a picture of Elizabeth and a sheet with all her information. Elizabeth was a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair and gentle green eyes.  
  
"Okay. You know the drill Wood. The basics." Jaguar said in a commanding, business like tone.  
  
'She can be so uptight when it comes to a job.' Rose shook her head at her friend's routine.  
  
Wood nodded. "Course. You all ready know that it was Elizabeth. As well as she was found just three meters away from Megan. A man by the name of Zachariah Gullihan found her and she was last seen alive not three hours before she was discovered at five in the morning." Jaguar nodded. She took the folder when Velma handed it to her. She gave a once over of the information before sliding it in her jacket and standing up.  
  
"Okay. Rose, Cerberus and I will go look at the scene. Could you guys go and talk to this Zachariah guy?"  
  
"Sure." Freddy said as they all stood. Jaguar could see that Shaggy and Scooby were thoroughly scared by the way the two were shaking worse then leaves in a tornado. She felt sorry for them, wishing she could help but what could she do?  
  
"After that go to Thorn's and wait for me."  
  
"Why Thorn's?"  
  
"I'm livin' there. Any ways when I get back we can go out to lunch? My treat."  
  
Instantly Shaggy and Scooby's eyes lightened up at the possibility of free food.  
  
"Can we, like, go to Jack's?" Shaggy asked.  
  
"Sure." Jaguar smiled.  
  
Velma laughed and shook her head. "You're going to regret that offer Jaguar."  
  
"What do you mean?" Jaguar gave a confused look.  
  
"You'll see. Come on guys. Let's go and try to solve this mystery."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ So??? What ya think? I know, a little more boring then the usual but some times you gotta go down before going back up...that made no sense so ignore that statement. Any who, review as soon as possible. Thanks. C-ya later. 


	7. Investigation and Scary Discoveries

HEXED WOLF: Investigation and Scary Discoveries AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
The biting wind picked up harder as the gang stepped up to the door of Zachariah Gullihan. The house looked older then any others in the area.  
  
"Is this the place?" Shaggy asked as they gazed up at it. Even though it was the middle of the day the house looked spooky, giving off an air of foreboding and warning to all that dare to come into its vicinity.  
  
"Yeah. 143 So. Maverick st." Velma replied.  
  
"This is like, some weird kinda spooky." He whistled.  
  
"Reah. Rooky." Scooby agreed.  
  
"Well come on. Let's get this started." Freddy raised his hand to knock but the door flew open. On the other side was a man in his late fifties with black hair and piercing dark eyes. By the way he looked none would have guessed he was older then forty with his smooth skin and defined features.  
  
"What do you want?" The man's voice was dark and slick, like venom.  
  
"Umm...excuse me. Are you Zachariah Gullihan?" Velma asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. There was something obviously creepy about the man and none of them were looking forward to talking with him.  
  
"Yes. Who may I ask are you?"  
  
"I'm Velma and this is Shaggy, Scooby, Fred and Daphne. We came to ask you a couple questions about Elizabeth Doran."  
  
"Oh you mean the woman I found." It wasn't a question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Step right in." Zachariah stepped to the side to let the group in. They walked quickly yet cautiously into the threshold, having the distinct feeling of walking into Dracula's dungeon. Though they shook it off, at least Daphne, Fred and Velma did, Shaggy and Scooby were too frightened even to move too far in.  
  
"Please sit down." He motioned into the living room where every piece of furniture was antique and made of ebony wood. The carpet was a deep blue with the walls being dark red paneling. Even with the fire going in the grandmaster fireplace the place still looked dark and cold. "Would you like something to drink?"  
  
"No." The gang blurted out as one.  
  
"Uh, no." Daphne repeated at the confused expression on the man's face.  
  
"Well all right. Sit down. I, myself, am quiet thirsty, I'll only be a moment." And with that he disappeared into the hallway once more as the others sat.  
  
"Probably went to go get blood, man." Shaggy whimpered.  
  
"Oh stop. There're no such things as vampires Shaggy. Remember Vampire Rock."  
  
"I, like, try not to."  
  
"I don't know. I think that there are Soldiers of the Dark out there." Zachariah's slick voice made the group jump. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." A warm smile crossed his sharp features as he walked back into the living room.  
  
"It's fine."  
  
Zachariah sat down on the large black antique chair and leaned back, sipping from his teacup regally. "What may I help you with?"  
  
"Well like we said," Velma started. "We were wondering what you were doing walking around so late? Or early."  
  
"I'm...an insomniac. Can't sleep at night. So I decided to take walk to clear my head."  
  
"But all the way over there? Puritan Village is on the other side of the town."  
  
"Some times it takes quiet awhile for my head to clear." Zachariah set his cup on the coffee table then sat back, steepling his fingers across his chest.  
  
"It says that you got to the police at almost six. What happened during that hour?" Velma asked, suddenly feeling like one of the detectives in the stories she read.  
  
Zachariah raised an eyebrow. "You're quite thorough about this Ms. Dinkly." He leaned forward and looked at the group. "I saw some tracks and decided to follow them, thinking maybe the killer would still be around."  
  
"But why would you go after a killer? That's crazy." Daphne said.  
  
"I can handle myself." He sat back. As he did so a scent wafted his way. A very familiar scent. "Excuse me. Would you mind if 'I' asked a question?"  
  
"Go ahead." Freddy replied.  
  
"Do you know a R-sorry, a Jaguar?"  
  
"Yes. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well I've seen you hanging out together and I wondered if you would deliver a note for me."  
  
"Why not give it to her yourself."  
  
"It's quite complicated but I would really appreciate it if she got this letter."  
  
"Sure." Freddy replied cautiously, wondering what was going on.  
  
"Thank you." Zachariah got up and disappeared around the corner once more. A few minutes passed by before he came back, an envelope in his hand. "Here you go." He handed the note to Freddy then straitened. "If that's it I'll see you to the door."  
  
"Actually. I have to use the restroom. Could I use yours by chance?" Velma said quickly.  
  
"No of course. Go up the stairs and it is the third door on the right."  
  
"Thank you." The woman stood up and walked out to the hall. Glancing back over her shoulder, she dashed up the stairs. There was something about Zachariah that she didn't like or trust. She decided to do a little investigating.  
  
When she reached the landing she glanced behind her once more before checking for an open door. Other then the bathroom there was only one. It was at the very end. Sliding it open slowly she glanced inside. It seemed to be nothing more then a bedroom. "But something doesn't feel right."  
  
She closed the door silently and turned on the light. Nothing out of the ordinary. There was a king sized dark blue and green canopy bed, large mahogany desk and an amore. It wasn't until she turned to leave did something catch Velma's eye. There seemed to be dog fur on the bed but there was no other sign of a dog. "Interesting."  
  
She took a tissue from her pocket and picked up a few hairs off the bed. She'd have Jaguar look at them, then put them carefully in her pocket. Her eyes traveled up to the pillows where it seemed there were dark dried spots. Getting a closer look she gasped, seeing that it was blood. "Something defiantly isn't right here." Velma decided now would be a good time to leave. She turned quickly and reached for the door. But the knob was all ready turning.  
  
'Oh no!'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~HAHAHAHAH. Another cliffhanger. HAHAHAHAH. All right sorry. Got kinda carried away there.  
  
What did ya think of this chapter? Read and Review and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. 


	8. Happy at Last

HEXED WOLF: Happy at Last AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
Velma stood frozen to the spot. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. 'Oh no.' Fear began to fill the woman but she willed herself to be calm. 'What do I say to him? Sorry wrong room? No no. That wouldn't explain why the door was closed. Maybe the wind had closed it. No that doesn't work either there aren't any windows open. Think Velma think!' But it was too late. The door opened to reveal...  
  
"Freddy?"  
  
"Velma?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"  
  
"No time for that right now. Let's get out of this place, it's giving me the creeps."  
  
"Yeah. From what I saw Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby want the same thing. Let's go." They walked quickly yet quietly down the hallway, careful not to make too much sound.  
  
"Wait."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"If I don't make some noise Zachariah's going to know that I didn't go to the bathroom and get suspicious. I'll go inside. You wait a could seconds the knock, all right?"  
  
"Okay." Velma opened the door and slipped inside, careful to shut it silently. Freddy waited until he heard the click of the knob before knocking.  
  
"Hey Velma. You all right?" The door opened, following the flushing of a toilet and running water.  
  
"Yeah. Why don't we go and see if Jaguar's back."  
  
"All right." They walked down the stairs and into the front room. Velma tried to be as normal as possible but the blood was still on her mind. There was too much to suggest that he had simply gotten a nosebleed in the middle of the night. It looked as if he had had blood smeared on his lips like a lion after it feeds.  
  
When they peaked into the front room Zachariah was still sipping his drink like a noble man while Daphne, Scooby and Shaggy seemed to have gotten even more uncomfortable.  
  
'If that's possible.' Freddy mused.  
  
"Hey. Why don't we go?" The others lightened up at the prospect of leaving this godforsaken place.  
  
"I'm sorry that you have to leave so soon." Zachariah rose with the others, an evil glint in his eye. One that no one caught. "Maybe we will see one another again."  
  
"I hope not." Shaggy whispered but when Daphne jabbed him in the side he quickly changed his answer to: "Maybe."  
  
"And remember to give Jaguar that note. Tell her it is from...a friend." Zachariah said, either not hearing or pretending not to hear Shaggy's snide comment.  
  
"We will." Freddy called as he and the others quickly walked out of the home into the freezing storm.  
  
"Come on guys. Let's get back to Thorn's and get out of this cold." Freddy yelled over the gale.  
  
Silently agreeing they headed to the Mystery Machine. Immediately climbing inside Freddy started the engine and blasted the heater.  
  
"Ahh." Shaggy sighed, leaning back against the cool wall of the van. "Like, I'm glad to be outta that weather."  
  
"For now anyway." Daphne replied as Freddy pulled the car away from the side and drove to the McKnight residents. All of them were silent, each trying to think about what they had just heard, or in Velma's case just saw.  
  
'Zachariah has to be behind these murders. But why were there dog hairs on the bed? He didn't have a dog.' These thoughts lulled her into deep thought, making her completely miss Freddy talking to her. That was until there was a rude shaking of her shoulder. "What?"  
  
"We were wondering what you had found in Zachariah's bedroom."  
  
"When did you go to his bedroom, Velma?" Shaggy asked.  
  
"Let's just say I didn't really need to use the bathroom." Velma smiled.  
  
"Velma! You never lie." Daphne smiled, hitting Velma's shoulder playfully. The bookworm only shrugged but was still smiling.  
  
Freddy pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. They got out of the car and quickly walked up to the door then knocked.  
  
"Hey guys." Thorn smiled when she finally opened the door. "Like, what are you doin' here?"  
  
"Can we come in?"  
  
"Sure." Thorn sidestepped and gave the shivering group entrance. They walked into the house and shucked off their jackets.  
  
"It's only fall. It shouldn't be this cold, should it?" Daphne shivered.  
  
"It shouldn't be but it has been really cold lately. Probably just some freak weather." Thorn shrugged. "So. What are you doin' here?"  
  
"Jaguar asked us to meet her here."  
  
"Jaguar?" Thorn felt her cheeks color as she remembered the night before. The Hunter's lips on her own, her strong arms wrapped around the singer's waist.  
  
"Thorn? Are you all right?" Freddy broke through the woman's thoughts.  
  
"Oh...uh yeah. Yeah I'm fine." She cleared her throat. "Do you guys want something to drink? Hot cocoa or somethin'?"  
  
"Sure." The group agreed as one. Thorn nodded and walked into the kitchen. As she fixed the hot drinks another blush rose on her cheeks again. Her feelings for Jaguar had increased since that kiss. She knew that these feelings were...love. 'Stop thinking like that. You've only known her what? One maybe two days at most? You can't be in love.' She chided herself.  
  
But the more she thought the more she wondered if it was true.  
  
"Hey Thorn? Like, what's takin' so long?" Shaggy's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She quickly poured the hot water and mix into separate mugs, then set them on a plate and walked into the front room. She handed out each one then sat down.  
  
"What do you need to see Jaguar for?" Thorn asked as she sipped her hot cocoa.  
  
"We're working with her on a case." Freddy explained.  
  
"Case?"  
  
"Yes. There have been these, like, killings or whatever." Daphne said.  
  
Thorn visibly choked on her drink. "Killings?" She paled.  
  
"Yes. We don't know a whole lot just that there have been three. That's it."  
  
"Heavy." Thorn breathed. Just then the door opened and a tired Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel came in. "Hey guys."  
  
The three looked up. Rose gave a half smile. "Hey."  
  
"Where's Jaguar?"  
  
"She'll meet us at the diner. She had a few things to take care of." She leaned against the doorsill. "So. You guys ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah. But are you sure you guys are up to it? You look beat."  
  
"Today has been too long of a day." She groaned, stretching and popping her back. "Actually everyday is a long day, 'specially when Jag's on a case." The woman replied to no one in particular.  
  
"You make it sound like you're cops."  
  
"Well In a way we sorta are. But not the kind of cops you're thinkin'. We're Hunters."  
  
"Rose." Celeb said warningly.  
  
"Hunters?"  
  
"Yes." Rose sat up; cracking her neck then began to talk again.  
  
"Don't Rose."  
  
"Oh they're going to find out. Anyway you've seen things, ghosts, werewolves, things of that sort. But those were fake. What we hunt is real."  
  
"What do you mean real?"  
  
"Let's just say that those stories meant to scare children aren't just stories." Rose said. "Come on. Let's get something to eat."  
  
"Reah!"  
  
"We can take the Mystery Machine."  
  
~*~  
  
Jaguar dragged herself inside the house. Her muscles felt sore and her stomach ached but she stayed true to her word. "Just wish my word didn't have to deal with movin' around too much." She mumbled as she walked up the stairs and into her room. She let out a breath and grabbed a few clothes then walked into the bathroom. Her eyes momentarily traveled to the door across from her room.  
  
Her thoughts moved from the current pain to last nights...pleasure. Thousand of thoughts were racing through her head before her and Thorn kissed but the moment their lips connected all thoughts, all pain, all fear disappeared. There was only a feeling of warmth and something else. Something that the Hunter hadn't felt for nearly a decade and a half, some thing she hadn't let herself feel. The last time she felt it was at her birthday party.  
  
Five winters had passed and she was a happy child just like anyone else of her kind. But unlike everyone else fate had given her a cruel birthday gift. The gift of, "Death." She whispered sadly. "And a curse." Sighing she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.  
  
After stripping down she threw her old clothes into the hamper. For a moment she looked at herself in the mirror. Old scars marred her bronze skin, constant reminders of the battle she was fighting: both with herself and the creatures of the night. "I'm afraid, a battle I don't think I'll win." She let out a breath and turned to the shower.  
  
She turned on the water as hot as she could stand before stepping in. The stream cascaded down her body, releasing every knot and washing away all the tension with the dirt and grime. When most of the stiffness had disappeared from her muscles she grabbed the soap and washed her hair and skin, careful of the stitches still on the belly. Jaguar ran a hand gently over them, inspecting them. "Guess I should take 'em out. I should be healed."  
  
She pulled back the shower curtain enough to grasp the knife from her boot and pulled back before the cold air could create goose bumps on her flesh. Carefully she cut one of the wires and pulled it out. The feeling of wire rubbing against tender flesh was an unpleasant but welcomed sensation, it meant that the nerves hadn't deadened and she would be fine.  
  
Her thoughts traveled back to the one who had stitched her up. The woman's face swam in front of the Hunter's inner eye. She remembered the care pouring from those emerald pools, the sweet kiss coming from soft lips. All of it seemed like a dream but the familiar prick of her knife brought her back down to earth. She looked down to see that her daydreaming and caused her to cut herself with her own knife. "Damn."  
  
She finished cutting out all the stitches quickly then cleaned the newly exposed flesh before turning off the water and stepping out. Just as she stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry her hair her hearing picked up the sound of the bell chiming down the hall. "Shit." She quickly got dressed, braided her hair then rushed outside. The wind was whipping about fiercely, making Jaguar wonder if this really was some freak snap but she wasn't able to think long when the Jake's diner came into view. 'Jeez. Sometimes I hate my agility.' She growled to herself while walking inside she felt herself being taken by the level of happiness that coursed through the room like bolts of lightening, banishing her pain and energizing her body.  
  
"Hey Jaguar! You finally made it!" Rose smiled.  
  
"Jaguar!" Nathaniel smiled, running over to her and clinging to her leg. "You came."  
  
"Course I did, kid." She picked him up and spun him around. The group watched as the tough Hunter slipped slowly into big sister mode, playing with Nathaniel and making him laugh.  
  
"Wow. She's amazing." Thorn replied.  
  
"Yeah she is." Rose added, making Thorn jump and blush.  
  
"Uh...what I meant was,"  
  
"What you meant was exactly what you said." The girl gave a catty grin. "And don't worry. I'm not after her."  
  
"What," But Thorn wasn't able to finish as Jaguar walked over and sat down next to her, letting Nathaniel off her shoulders so she could take off her jacket and eat. The small boy ran to his seat in between Rose and Celeb and bounced up and down.  
  
"Has someone fed him suger?" Jaguar asked, chuckling.  
  
"No. I just happy to be with a lot a friends." The boy smiled broadly. It was contagious because soon everyone was smiling.  
  
"You're a cute little boy." Daphne replied.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Freddy turned to Jaguar who was talking to Rose aobut something. "What took ya so long?"  
  
"I needed to take a shower." She sat back and looked at the group. "What're we havin'?"  
  
"Just drinks for now." Celeb replied gruffly, falling back into his usual stance.  
  
"What's up with you Celeb?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Why...do I not believe you?" The Hunter chuckled.  
  
"Sorry. Just me I guess." Celeb shrugged. The Hunter looked at her friend seriously for a moment, truly worried but she knew that she wouldn't get anything out of him until he was ready so she let it go.  
  
"Welcome. Here are your drinks." Jake put hot cocoa down in front of everyone including Jaguar.  
  
"I ordered for ya." Rose replied.  
  
"Oh. Thanks."  
  
"What would you like to eat? And I'm going to get to you two last." Jake said, looking at Shaggy and Scooby.  
  
They put on a face of mock hurt. "What? What's wrong with surving us?"  
  
"Nothing. It's just some of us would like to eat too." Velma laughed, followed soon by the others. "And remember to go easy, we're eating on Jaguar's tab."  
  
"All right already." Shaggy replied.  
  
Jake laughed then began to take everyone's order, sure enough ending with Shaggy and Scooby. They ordered whatever was left after the other's got their fill.  
  
Rose, Jaguar and Celeb stared in bewilderment at the two, eyes asking 'Are you serious?'.  
  
"That's how much they usually eat if they get the chance." Freddy explained. "They have bottomless pit stomachs."  
  
"Take your word for it." Jaguar said, her voice laced with amusement.  
  
"Okay. I'll be right back with your food." With that Jake turned and wlaked to the back of the kitchen. The table fell into discussion about this or that, talking and laughing.  
  
Jaguar leaned slightly back in her chair to survey everyone. There was a smile on all the faces and a merriment in every eye. Even Celeb had a small smile of his face.  
  
"Jaguar?" The Hunter turned at the sound of her name. Her golden eyes caught onto those of Thorn's and for a moment everything seemed to stop; her heart, her breath, even her brain seemed to stop working. All right it didn't go that far but it almost felt like it. Expecially when she slid her hand onto the Hunter's knee. "You're coming to the concert right?"  
  
"Course." Jaguar replied, trying not to let her voice sound breathless. She'd never gotten this kind of reaction from someone before. What was it about the singer?  
  
'Maybe she is what her get-up makes her out to be. A witch and she's put me under her spell.' Jaguar amused herself with the thought for amoment before letting it go and coming to the fact that she was, in fact, in love.  
  
Rose looked out the corner of her eye to watch the interaction between Thorn and Jaguar. Only she noticed the slight twinge of pink under the golden tan of her friend's cheeks. And she was glad. Jaguar deserved to have fun and be happy. She's saved so many people's lives at the cost of her own on a countless number of times. 'I'm glad she found someone. Now to see if it won't get shattered by anything.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Another chapter down and a few more to go. What'd ya think? Good? Bad? JUST STOP WRITING NOW!!!?? Uhh **cough, blush** Sorry **clears throat** Got a little too excited.  
  
Review and tell me what you thought of the story.  
  
Oh and **chuckle** sorry to Eternity and everyone else for all the cliffhangers. Like I said before cliffhangers build anticipation and bring ya back for more. But I promise, no more cliffhangers.  
  
C-ya later. 


	9. Aamngreka

HEXED WOLF: Aamngreka AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
"God I'm full." Shaggy replied, patting his stomach.  
  
"So am I." A few others chimed in. They were in the Mystery Machine and riding back to Thorn's house. Since it was a tight fit some were sitting on other people's laps. Rose was sitting on Celeb's with Nathaniel in her lap, Jaguar was sitting with Thorn in her lap and Scooby and Shaggy were just sitting close to one another.  
  
"Are you excited about your concert tomorrow Thorn?" Freddy asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What songs you going to play?"  
  
"Come to the concert and you'll find out."  
  
"Did you say that the concert was tomorrow?" Jaguar asked, looking intently at the blonde driver.  
  
"Yeah. Why?" But Jaguar didn't hear the second part as her mind swirled around. Tomorrow was an important day to her kind. But what was it?  
  
"Jaguar!"  
  
"What?" The woman finally looked up.  
  
"Why did you wanna know?"  
  
"Oh uhh...I thought something else was happening tomorrow, had to think for a second. Sorry." The group accepted the half-truth. 'I wish I could remember what was tomorrow. It's important I know it. I remember Cú always ranting and raving and preparing for it when I was training under him. Why can't I remember?'  
  
~*~  
  
When they got to the house they rushed inside and to the front room. Thorn immediately started a fire and the room warmed up quickly, much to everyone's delight.  
  
As the others began to chat about the concert or what not Jaguar slipped away upstairs. The question was still gnawing at her mind. What was happening tomorrow? Was it good? Or bad?  
  
"Whatever it is we have to find it fast." She slipped inside her room and shut her door.  
  
~*~  
  
Downstairs the group began to talk about Zachariah.  
  
"That man is seriously freaky."  
  
"Yeah. Hey Scooby you didn't smell a dog around his house did you?" Velma asked.  
  
Scooby shook his head. "Ruh uh."  
  
"Why Velma?"  
  
"Because," She retrieved the tissue from her pocket. "I found these dog hairs on his bed and I didn't notice a dog anywhere."  
  
"Really? Well tonight when we go to his house we can check."  
  
"Yeah. I wanted to give these to Jaguar. Where did she go?"  
  
"Upstairs I think. I'll go give them to her." Thorn replied.  
  
"Oh, before you go up give her this note." Freddy retrieved the letter from his pocket and handed it to her.  
  
"Okay." She walked up the stairs and to the guest bedroom. The door was closed so she knocked. She listened as there was a scramble and then Jaguar came to the door, looking rushed.  
  
"Thorn? What's up?"  
  
"Well we were, like, all wondering where you went off to. Also Freddy and Velma wanted me to give you these." She handed over to the Kleenex and the envelope. Jaguar took the things from Thorn's hands, then turned and walked over to her bed. Thorn stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her, and followed the Hunter.  
  
Jaguar set the note on the bed then opened the tissue and examined the hairs. She noticed a familiarity about them that made her shiver in fear.  
  
'Gods. Don't tell me he is alive.' She sat down on the bed, placing her face in her hands.  
  
"Jaguar. Are you all right? You don't look too good."  
  
"I...I'm fine." 'Damn it stop jumpin' to conclusions!' She looked up at Thorn and gave an encouraging smile.  
  
"All right. What's in the envelope?"  
  
"Oh." Jaguar had almost forgot about the letter. She picked it up as Thorn seated herself next to the woman. The Hunter opened it up and took out the parchment. The lettering was elegant and spidery. The Hunter read it to herself.  
  
'Dear Rebecca,  
  
Or should I call you Jaguar now? Whatever I call you you are still my pupil and cannot stop the inevitability of Aamngreka. You have not been practicing with your skills, I felt you weak power when you fought Dredge. I will end your suffering soon enough.  
  
Your sire,  
  
Cú'  
  
Jaguar could have sworn her heart stopped at that moment. 'He is alive. That can't be. No. Not him.' Images of her past with that...monster, that thing, flashed over her. His harsh teachings, cruel punishments for imperfection. He was the one thing that could bring the mighty Hunter to her knees. And now he was back and striving to bring around Aamngreka. 'No!'  
  
"Jag?" Thorn watched the color completely drain from the Hunter's face. "Jaguar what's wrong?"  
  
"Aamngreka is coming." Came the strained whisper.  
  
"Amen-what?"  
  
"Aamngreka." Jaguar bolted up and rummaged through her backpack. She pulled from deep within it a large leather bound book. Thorn looked at the cover, her eyes widening as they scanned over the three disfigured, grotesque skulls, spikes protruding from their foreheads, the scraps of cloth that was strung from the spikes and the horizontal half moon shape in the back, pointing down like fangs.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"A book that has what I need." Jaguar thumbed through its ancient pages. Pictures of misshapen creatures, vile demons and torturing scenes greeted the golden-eyed Hunter mercilessly.  
  
"Why do you have that book Jaguar?" Thorn asked.  
  
"Because sometimes when I fight I need to know my opponent better and this book tells me everything I need to know." She looked over her shoulder at the woman. "I don't practice Bakati, or the Dark Arts. I swear." She said. Thorn nodded but turned away as not to see the horrible pictures inside.  
  
"Where did you get it?"  
  
"I stole it from my old sire."  
  
"You stole it? Why would you wanna steal that thing?"  
  
"I just told you why. So if I need to now more about the 'Eii'." She replied, looking back at the book. Her eyes scanned the pages as quickly as her fingers flipped them. "I found it." She set the book on her bed and knelt next to. Thorn sat down next to the book and looked at it. It was written in a language she couldn't understand but there were a few words she got: Eii and Aamngreka.  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"In the third millennia on the tenth month when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead will be its thinnest. On this night of the pregnant moon will one, with the power over hundreds of souls, be able to bring about the Aamngreka." Jaguar sat back, her face registering fear and shock.  
  
"What's Aamngreka?" Thorn asked.  
  
Jaguar opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tried again but again nothing came out.  
  
"Jaguar?"  
  
Swallowing back the dread rising in her throat she finally spoke. "Aamngreka is the end of the world."  
  
~*~  
  
"I wonder what's taking those two so long." Freddy replied, looking at the stairs.  
  
Rose bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing. She had an idea of what those two were doing but decided to keep her lips shut.  
  
"I'm sure they're just talking. Why don't we talk about getting into Zachariah's house?" Velma replied.  
  
"All right. Well he said that he likes to take walks to clear his head. We just have to go there, wait until he takes his walk then go inside."  
  
"Okay. Now how do we get inside the house?"  
  
"Leave that to me." Rose grinned. "I'll get us inside without him knowin'."  
  
"All right. We just need Jaguar down here then we'll go."  
  
"I'm here." Came Jaguar's reply. The group looked over to see a stone faced Hunter and slightly flushed Singer. Rose and Celeb noticed the color under Jaguar's cheeks but didn't say anything.  
  
"Thorn? Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah I'm fine." Thorn nodded.  
  
"Are you sure? Your cheeks are, like, red." Shaggy replied.  
  
"Yeah." She walked into the kitchen, glancing back at Jaguar. A silent message passed between them before the raven-haired woman disappeared.  
  
"So when we leave I need everyone to make sure that they are ready." Everyone was surprised at the shake in the usually calm woman's voice. Something was happening and they were afraid to find out what?  
  
'But we gotta know.' "Jaguar what's up? You're voice usually doesn't shake like that."  
  
"I'll explain everything when we get back, Freddy." Jaguar said before turning and walking outside.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Yes, yes, yes. Not too much happened other then you find out about Aamngreka and who Zachariah is and a little bit about Jaguar's past. Don't worry the next chapter'll be better.  
  
Review and tell me what you thought.  
  
C-ya later. 


	10. Search

HEXED WOLF: Search AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
Thorn leaned against the counter and thought heavily about her and Jaguar's conversation upstairs.  
  
~*~  
  
'What do you mean...the end of the world?'  
  
'Doom's day! Ragnarok! Armageddon! Whatever you wanna call it is about to be summoned and everyone in this town, in this state, in this world! Are going to have their lives cut short.' Jaguar stood up and paced around the room. 'I have to stop this but...but I'm afraid.'  
  
'Of what?' Thorn asked as she slipped down next to Jaguar.  
  
'Of failure. Of my curse. Of him.'  
  
'What curse? And who?'  
  
Jaguar took a deep, shaky breath. She looked into Thorn's eyes. 'I've had this curse ever since I was five. Whenever I came to care about someone they got hurt. Rose, Nathaniel, Celeb, m-my family.' Thorn watched as the golden eyes glazed over with tears  
  
'What happened?'  
  
'They were murdered.'  
  
Thorn gasped. 'Murdered?' The Hunter nodded sadly. Thorn hooked her arms around Jaguar's shoulders and pulled the taller woman towards her. 'I'm sorry.'  
  
'Why? You're not the one that killed them.'  
  
'I know but, like, no one should have to go through that.' The singer said gently. 'Besides, nothing's happened to me.'  
  
Jaguar gazed into Thorn's eyes. 'That's why I want you to leave this place.'  
  
'What?' The singer was taken aback by the request.  
  
'I don't want something to happen to you Thorn. I care about you 'way' too much.' Jaguar pulled away from the warm arms. 'Please.'  
  
'No.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'For a lot of reasons. One is the show tomorrow. I can't let Dusk and Luna down. Also I want to be here to help you.'  
  
'But Thorn,'  
  
A soft finger on her lips cut off Jaguar. 'No. I'm going to stay here and help you Jaguar. I want to. I love you too much to lose you.'  
  
Jaguar was slightly speechless at that little testament. Thorn realized what she said and blushed deeply. She hadn't meant it to word it like that but it was too late to bring it back.  
  
'You...you love me?' Thorn nodded slightly. 'Why?'  
  
That caught the singer off guard. 'What do you mean why?'  
  
'Why do you love me?' Jaguar was saying it like it was the most absurd thing in the world.  
  
'Because Jaguar you...I,' Thorn paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she was going to say this without making herself sound like an idiot. 'I don't know,' Yeah that worked. 'I guess its just, like, your personality that you throw off. That and your looks don't hurt either.'  
  
Thorn giggled at the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on the Hunter's face. Jaguar quickly picked up her jaw from the floor and cleared her throat.  
  
'Uh...I uh,' Jaguar paused to collect herself a little. 'What I mean to say is umm,'  
  
Thorn smiled at the woman's stuttering. 'It's fine. But Jaguar I'm not leaving.'  
  
Jaguar gained an angered expression on her face. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn, now damn it I want you to go.'  
  
'No.'  
  
Jaguar locked eyes with her in an attempt to scare the woman into complying.  
  
No dice.  
  
'I've seen some scary shit in the past few years. A witch ready to kill all of us, a huge vampire monster, Dusk when she wakes up. So don't even try to scare me away.'  
  
Jaguar pouted slightly. 'Great. I'm less scary then a woman with morning breath. I hope that doesn't get out.' She propped her chin on her hand and sighed. Thorn smiled.  
  
'Don't worry. You're secret is safe with me.'  
  
'Thanks.' Jaguar gave the singer a genuine smile.  
  
Before her brain could even register what it was doing Thorn leaned forward and stole a kiss. It had meant to be a brief one, really, but Jaguar deepened it by pulling Thorn closer. Their tongues rubbed together, setting off a fire that burned away every fear that the woman had. She thought it was the same for Jaguar because when she looked into the Hunter's golden eyes she saw no fear or doubt that she had earlier. After a short, yet blissful eternity they pulled apart since their lungs screamed for air while their lips screamed for another kiss. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn.'  
  
'I know. And you won't.'  
  
~*~  
  
"You won't ever lose me Jaguar. I've never been in love and I'm not going to back down on you now. Not when you need me the most."  
  
~*~  
  
The group walked outside into the wind. If possible it had stirred up worse then ever before.  
  
"I hate this cold snap!" Freddy yelled over the gale.  
  
'It's no cold snap Freddy. It's witchcraft.' Jaguar thought as they crossed quickly to the van. Inside Jaguar slipped off her coat and checked her falchion.  
  
"What's that for?" Shaggy asked, eyeing the blade nervously.  
  
"If we run into any trouble." Jaguar replied absently. Her thoughts were racing. She knew she had to go up against Cú and stop him but that fear was holding her back. Fear of the olden days and fear of the change she would need to take to actually beat him. All of this was weighing heavily on her shoulders and she knew that if she didn't stop him no one else would or could. She slipped the sword back into its sheath and turned to Freddy. "All right. I want you to stop this a few blocks away from Zachariah's street. We don't need him to see that we're around."  
  
"Does that mean we have to walk out in that weather?"  
  
"Well we either walk in that weather and get there without him knowing or you can stay in the van alone with a killer werewolf on the loose. You choose." Jaguar said simply.  
  
Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other then back at Jaguar. "A brisk walk won't hurt us." Shaggy smiled. Jaguar raised an eyebrow while shaking her head.  
  
"All right. When we get there Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby'll check downstairs while the rest of us check upstairs."  
  
"Could I check with you guys? I'd really like to see what he's hiding in those rooms."  
  
"Sure, Velma." The Hunter replied. The bookworm gave a small smile as she turned back around.  
  
"Hey Jaguar. Are you sure a little kid should be going with us on this? It's a little dangerous." Freddy replied.  
  
"Nathaniel will be all right. Celeb wouldn't let anything happen to him. Besides he can help out a lot."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Searching for things." Jaguar replied. 'Hey, if ya can't give them the full truth give them half.'  
  
Freddy pulled the car to a stop and they all got out. The wind picked up harder, as if it knew why they were there and wanted to stop them.  
  
Jaguar smelled the air and was repulsed the all to familiar smell. It was Cú all right.  
  
"Come on. Let's go and get this done and over with." Jaguar yelled over the gales. They trudged forward, wary of making too much sound as not to alert anyone. It would look really strange that eight kids and one dog were slinking through the dark.  
  
'Let's just hope that no one decides to take a moon lit stroll.' The Hunter thought sarcastically.  
  
They moved as quickly as possible to the house where they ducked behind large bushes. There was an eerie silence, broken only by the howling wind.  
  
"Are you sure he's even going to be going out?" Shaggy asked.  
  
"Yeah." Freddy replied quietly. "No hush. He's coming out." They turned to see Zachariah walk out of his house and down the steps. Everyone, with the exception of Jaguar, watched in amazement, as nothing on Zachariah seemed to shift in the roaring wind. "How is that possible?"  
  
"Shut up." Jaguar hissed. She turned her golden eyes back to her...sire. It had been almost four years since she had seen him last, when he had supposedly died. But those four years were still hell. She didn't know why but she had felt as if someone was always watching her, studying her, waiting to kill her. At least now she knew who it was. 'But oddly that's not a comforting revelation.' Jaguar mused dryly.  
  
She was snapped out of her thoughts, as Zachariah looked their way. 'Crap. I really don't want to do this.' She pulled out an amulet from her pocket, hastily put it on and raised a hand above her slightly. "Gods that watch over us, protect us from the evil which searches for us. Veil us from the evil." She said almost silently. An invisible shield blasted from Jaguar's palm and covered all of them. Zachariah walked over to the bushes they were crouching behind and parted them.  
  
"O," Shaggy started but Scooby clapped a hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. The group watched in amazement as the man looked straight at all of them but didn't seem to see them.  
  
"Guess I was just imagining things." He said to himself before stepping back and continued walking down the street in the opposite direction. When he was well enough away Jaguar took down the shield and leaned back.  
  
"What was that!" Rose yelled.  
  
"I'll explain later. Let's go. Zachariah could be back at anytime." They ran up to the house and stayed as close to the shadows as they could. Freddy tried the lock and to their surprise it was open.  
  
"Guess no one thinks about robbers." Freddy replied.  
  
"Yeah." They dashed inside and looked around. "All right. We know where we're all supposed to go. Let's do it." The group split; Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Freddy staying downstairs as Rose, Celeb, Nathaniel, Velma and Jaguar ventured up.  
  
"What doors were locked?" The Hunter asked.  
  
"Those four." Velma pointed out the secured doors.  
  
"All right. Rose can you open this one?"  
  
"Course." The smaller woman walked forward and knelt down. Leaning her ear gently against the door, she waited for the distinct sound of the lock releasing.  
  
"Hurry up." Jaguar snapped, looking around nervously.  
  
"Put your pants out. I almost...got it!" Rose opened the door and stood up. Four smiles appeared but fell just as quickly.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!"  
  
~*~  
  
Freddy, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne walked carefully around the downstairs rooms. There was nothing of interest except some exceptionally old pottery and jewelry.  
  
"There's, like, thousands of dollars in one room alone. Why would you just leave the door open?"  
  
"Dunno. They don't really have to worry about thieves around here." Freddy replied.  
  
"I think we've established that Freddy." Daphne replied sarcastically. Freddy scowled at his girlfriend but all that did was make her and the other two laugh.  
  
"Come on. We still got the downstairs to search."  
  
"D-D-downstairs?" Shaggy stuttered.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Why do we have to go down there I mean it's so nice up here."  
  
"Come on." Daphne and Freddy dragged their friends to the one door that they hadn't checked. It opened silently to reveal a set of old stairs that disappeared into a black hole.  
  
"Op. Looks like there's nothing there, let's go." Shaggy turned to walk away but Freddy caught him.  
  
"I don't think so Shaggy." Freddy pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. A wash of white light illuminated the dark, chasing away shadows. The blonde shone it down the stairs and followed what it illuminated; Daphne soon afterwards, followed by a reluctant Shaggy and Scooby.  
  
"I have, like, a really bad feeling about this." The hippy whimpered.  
  
~*~  
  
Velma looked into the bare room. "Why would he keep a bare room locked up? I had gotten my hopes up."  
  
"Whoa there Velma. Settle down." Jaguar stepped forward and reached a hand out to the door. As it passed through the frame it disappeared.  
  
"What the,"  
  
"Just like I thought, it's a trick." The Hunter walked forward and disappeared, there was a tense moment before Jaguar's head popped back out. The other's eyes bulged at the sight of Jaguar's head just floating there. "Guys. Hey! Come on. There's some stuff here I wanna look at."  
  
The other carefully passed through, marveling at the fact that one minute they were looking at blanks floors and walls but now they were in a fully furnished study. There was a large desk right in the middle of the room, a fireplace in front of it and bookshelves were pushed up against the wall.  
  
"Oh my god. How could he have done this?"  
  
"Hacis." At the bookworm's confusion Jaguar tried again. "Magic."  
  
"Oh." Velma turned to look at the desk and examined the papers on it. Most was written in a language the woman had never seen before but some, like bills, were written in English. "How are we supposed to read this stuff if it's encoded."  
  
"Lemme see." Jaguar took the offered paper and looked it over. "He who takes the lives will get their essence to do with what he wishes. To bring about the end he must place Soul Stones that equal an amount for the centuries since passed, together and only then will he bring about the beginning of the end."  
  
"What does that mean? And how can you read that?"  
  
"I was taught to read these languages and it means that if we don't find those spirit stones that a 'lot' of people are in trouble."  
  
Velma only nodded. She turned back to the desk and began to rummage through the drawers, searching. The others followed, determined to find the stones.  
  
"What do they look like?" Rose asked.  
  
"I dunno." Jaguar shrugged as she began to open books and search for hiding places. She remembered that Cú loved to hide things in books: keys, potions, things of that sort for her to find. 'Oh I'll find them all right. You can count on that.'  
  
Velma pushed aside a large envelope to reveal an amulet. It was a raven made completely out of iron with a rose in its claws. The markings that were on almost all the papers were also on the rose's stem. "Hey guys. Look what I found." The others turned to look at the necklace as the brunette lifted it up.  
  
Jaguar looked away from it. She rested a hand on her heart, feeling the indentions of what was underneath. Looking at the amulet any shred of hope that Cú wasn't alive was banished. Her old sire was alive and she was going to have to fight him. But could she get past her initial fear and do it?  
  
She looked at her friends and took a breath. She had no choice. She'd have to.  
  
"Come on. The stones aren't here. Let's see if they're downstairs." Jaguar replied quickly. She put up the tome she had been searching and set it back on the shelf. The others replaced what they had been looking at and everyone walked out. Rose closed and relocked the door before following the others down the stairs.  
  
"Freddy! Daphne! Where are ya?" Jaguar called out.  
  
"Down here!"  
  
The five followed the sound of the voice to the stairs. They saw a light dancing and bobbing about.  
  
"Come on." Quickly descending the stairs Jaguar and the rest found themselves in some kind of dank, musty cellar.  
  
"Did you guys find anything?" Came Freddy's voice.  
  
"Yeah. Seems that Zachariah is trying to bring about the beginning of the end." Velma said.  
  
"Really?" Daphne's voice squeaked.  
  
"Yeah. But that's not going to happen. We just gotta find these things called Soul Stones." Jaguar replied.  
  
"Well there's nothing down here. Except some boxes and a lot of dust."  
  
"Well let's go then." Shaggy said, not hiding at all the shake in his voice.  
  
Jaguar took the small flashlight from its hip clip and passed it around. Sure enough there was nothing here. Maybe he hid them somewhere else. She let out a defeated breath before turning and starting to walk up the stairs with the others.  
  
But Nathaniel stopped and turned. He sniffed the air.  
  
"What's wrong Nathan?" Rose asked.  
  
"I smell something." He dashed off.  
  
"Nat!" Celeb called out. He and Rose gave chase to the boy, followed soon by everyone else. They found the child running his hand over the wall.  
  
"What is it Nathan?" Freddy asked.  
  
"This isn't a wall." The boy said cryptically. The Scooby gang looked at each other in confusion while the Hunter moved forward. She too examined the wall. At first glance it was simply stone and cement but a closer look revealed what looked to be a loose stone.  
  
"What the. Hey Freddy, point the light right here." She pointed to the spot. As the blonde did so Jaguar pulled the large knife from its sheath and slipped it into the stone's edges. She wiggled it around carefully as not to snap the blade. The granite slowly came free to reveal a notch.  
  
"Hey!" Velma called. "It looks like that necklace we found upstairs."  
  
"Yeah. It must be some sort of key." Rose added. "I'll go get it so we can put it in."  
  
"No need." Jaguar replied.  
  
"What? Why? How else are we going to get in?"  
  
"We'll use this." Jaguar pulled from under her shirt an exact copy of the amulet from upstairs, except the lettering was different.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Rose asked.  
  
"It's mine." Jaguar said simply before inserting the charm into the slot. There was a tense moment where nothing happened before a line cut through the wall in the shape of a door and swung open. Jaguar quickly retrieved her necklace and walked inside the room, followed closely by the rest. This room was unlike any of them had seen before. Jars full of weird concoctions made shelves, tables and whatever else was available their home, cages full of rats, snakes, cats, dogs and various other animals was pushed up against one wall. In the middle of the room was a large cauldron with a table next to it that had what looked to be a mad scientist kit on top.  
  
"What is all this?" Velma breathed.  
  
"Looks like Zachariah is some kind of scientist."  
  
'He's no scientist.' Jaguar thought as she began to search around.  
  
There was silence for a while as the gang tried to find anything that would help them.  
  
Freddy found something after opening a drawer. It was a large wooden box with drawing carved into the wood. They were of spirits, an explosion then of death itself.  
  
'I don't know if I wanna open this.' Freddy thought to himself as he pulled it out and set it on the closest surface. Preparing for an explosion he opened it tentatively and peered inside. There was what looked to be almost a thousand smaller boxes. Picking one up he opened it to show a golden ball, no bigger then a quarter. "Hey. What're these?" Freddy spoke out loud.  
  
"Lemme see one." Shaggy took the golden one and tossed it into the air. "This is a cool little thing, aye Scoob?"  
  
"Reah." Scooby looked at the other ones.  
  
"What're you looking a..." But Jaguar trailed off as she saw the golden orb being flung carelessly into the air by Shaggy. "No!" She lunged forward and grabbed the stone before it could fall once more.  
  
"What's wrong Jaguar?"  
  
"Where did you find this? Where!"  
  
"In here. There are a lot more." Freddy pointed to the large box. Jaguar dashed over and looked inside the box.  
  
"How...how could he have done this?"  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"No time now. We gotta go!" Jaguar threw the lid over the box and picked it up. "Come on!" She was about to dash outside when a sudden wash of cold fear dripped down her spine, freezing her in her place. A dark figure moved in front of the door, stopping anyone from moving.  
  
"Where do you think you're going with those Becky?" A sinister voice growled. Jaguar knew that voice well; she'd heard it everyday for three years before she left.  
  
"Ryan."  
  
The figure moved from the shadows into the light. It was a boy, only a year younger then Jaguar but just as tall, with short dark red hair and evil blue eyes. "Glad you remember me Becky."  
  
"How could I forget the Great Ryan?" The blonde replied snidely.  
  
Ryan gave a sadistic grin, stepping forward. "Why are you taking the stones Rebecca? They don't belong to you."  
  
"They don't belong to him either. Out of my way."  
  
"Say please."  
  
Jaguar thrust the box into Rose's hands and pulled her sword. "Please stay in my way so I can kill you."  
  
"And finish the job that you started all those years ago?" Ryan shook his head, clicking his tongue. "I don't think so. That can wait until tomorrow."  
  
"Then move." Ryan's grin grew wider, as if he had just won a personal bet, and stepped out of the way. Jaguar shouldered past the boy.  
  
"See you tomorrow Jaguar. Tell Thorn hi for me."  
  
Jaguar stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you mean?" She asked but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. The hairs on the back of the woman's neck rose in fear. "Thorn." She darted off, leaving everyone behind to wonder what was going on that made the brave hunter run in fear.  
  
~*~  
  
Nothing registered to the woman, not the ground under her feet, the wind whipping her hair into her face or the branches of the trees scratching her skin. The only thing that mattered right now was Thorn's safely.  
  
'Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me.' The words kept replaying in her mind until it became a chant, a mantra to egg on her fears.  
  
"To any gods that are listening protect Thorn. She hasn't done anything to deserve having her soul imprisoned. Don't let my curse hurt her." The Hunter said quietly to herself.  
  
Coming to a screeching halt just on outside of the woods that surrounded the McKnight residence, Jaguar felt her heart drop at the sight of a figure pouring gasoline over the outside. Sense came back to her just as the figure lit a match. "No!" She pulled the knife from her ankle and threw it at the person. It connected solidly with their hand, making them drop match. Jaguar ran forward and put the flame out quickly before turning to look at the figure. From this distance it was obviously a woman.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You don't recognize me Rebecca. I'm surprised. We were like sisters."  
  
"Sisters?" Jaguar raked her brain for a moment before her eyes widened. "Nichole."  
  
"Bingo." Nichole walked into the light. Jaguar's eyes traveled along the woman's features. The moonlight made alabaster skin glow and the black hair was almost blue. Beautiful as always. "It's good to see you again Rebecca."  
  
"Why are you here Nichole? Wait. Stupid question. Cú wanted you to kill Thorn to hurt me and take her soul. Is that right?"  
  
Nichole nodded sadly. "Yes."  
  
"Then go back and tell him it won't happen." All fear that Jaguar had been feeling earlier melted away from the heat of her anger that was welling up. Cú was going after the one person she cared about more then anything with the only person that she had considered family when she was young. He knew that she was going to kill Nichole.  
  
'But I didn't.'  
  
"I can't go back Becky."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You remember him. If you screw up he takes his pound of flesh. You have many scars to lie down as proof. But now he is worse. Maddened with the power of almost reaching his goal,"  
  
"Bringing about Aamngreka." The two said together.  
  
"What are you going to do then?"  
  
"Rebecca,"  
  
"Jaguar. My name is Jaguar now."  
  
"Jaguar. I don't want to help Cú any longer. Please let me help you fight him."  
  
"Are you nuts! You were just about to kill the woman I love and now you're saying you want to help me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Jaguar stared at her in disbelief. She let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. But if I find out this is a trick then you're gone. And I don't mean out the door. Got it?"  
  
Nichole nodded hesitantly. This was a different woman then what she remembered those years back. The Rebecca she remembered was warm and inviting. But this one was cold. She could see it in those golden eyes.  
  
"Let's get inside." Jaguar growled. The two strode inside the house. Nichole stopped short as Jaguar took in the damage. There were deep scratch marks on the wall, papers were everywhere and with her acute sight Jaguar made out drops of blood on the wall. "If she's dead. You'll be joining her." The Hunter growled as she set out to find the singer.  
  
There was nothing on the first floor except for a mess but upstairs in the middle of the hallway lay an unconscious, but still alive, Thorn. Jaguar quickly, but gently, picked her up and carried her downstairs to the front room. She laid the woman on the sofa and checked her over. There was a knock to the back of her head that was bleeding slightly but wasn't going to do any permanent damage, a couple scratches here and there but thankfully she'd only end up with a headache.  
  
'My curse strikes again. I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to you.'  
  
"You care about her don't you?" Nichole's voice broke through to the Hunter. Jaguar looked up quickly, completely forgetting that the other woman was there.  
  
"That's none of your business."  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." Nichole walked over and looked down at the singer. "I'm sorry Rebecca. I was only doing what Cú asked me. Not all were as smart as you. We couldn't escape."  
  
"Why didn't you just come with me Nikky?"  
  
Nichole smiled at the childhood name. Though it turned into a sad one. "I was scared. I'd never been on my own before and I didn't know what to expect."  
  
"I would have protected you, you know that."  
  
"Yeah I do. But at the time fear was over reining my good judgment. Too late now."  
  
"No it's not. Tomorrow I'm going to once and for all but a stop to Cú's reign."  
  
Nichole smiled up at the taller woman. "Listen to you. You used to be scared shitless of him now you're ready to kick his ass."  
  
Jaguar gave a half smile as her eyes traveled to Thorn. "It's because I realized I have something worth fighting for."  
  
They both lapsed into a comfortable silence while Jaguar tended to Thorn's wounds and Nichole started a fire.  
  
Not too long later the door opened to reveal a wind-swept Scooby Gang, Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel. Freddy was now carrying the Soul Stones. The group walked in and he set them on the coffee table.  
  
"Why'd you take off so quick Jaguar?" Rose asked.  
  
"Because I needed to save Thorn."  
  
"Is she all right?" Jaguar and Nichole stepped apart to show the comatose singer.  
  
"What happened? And who are you?"  
  
"Guys this is Nichole. She is a...friend of mine. And Thorn was attacked by one of Cú goons."  
  
'Oh I'm a goon am I?' Nichole snapped mentally but didn't say anything out loud.  
  
"Is she going to be all right?" Freddy asked.  
  
"Yeah. She'll just have a major headache in the morning." Jaguar replied, shrugging. She sat down, motioned for the others to as well. "This has been a long night. Why don't you guys just stay here for tonight?" No one disagreed.  
  
"Yeah. Besides you said you'd explain what was going on when we got back." Velma pointed out.  
  
Jaguar flinched as she remembered saying that. She didn't like to talk about her past but they deserved to know the truth and that truth was attached to her. "Okay." Jaguar let out a breath as she tried to figure out what to say. "Cú, or Zachariah as you know him, is a warlock. One that shouldn't be fucked with at any cost."  
  
"What is it with this town and warlocks?" Shaggy asked out loud.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"A couple years back Oakhaven had another warlock. His name was Ben Ravencroft. He unleashed this spirit's soul onto the world but we got them imprisoned again." Velma explained, trying to sum it up as best as she could.  
  
"Oh." Jaguar said. "Anyway he can control the elements and is a master of Eii Hacis, Evil magic. But knows enough Pord Hacis, good magic, to fool everyone. He won't hesitate to use his favorite technique, the Tortert, on you."  
  
"What that?" Velma asked.  
  
"A horrible spell that I hope none of you have to witness." Jaguar simply said, willing her stomach not to lurch at the memory of when she last saw that horrible technique. The victim's screams still echoed around her head like a rabbit on speed, mixing with the images of intestines bursting and dropping from the bubbling, rotting flesh.  
  
The group saw the absolute revulsion on the Hunter's face and instantly didn't want to know what it was.  
  
The subject dropped.  
  
Jaguar tried to quickly regain her composure and took a breath. "Okay. What else do you want to know?"  
  
They were quiet. Jaguar wished she hadn't asked because she was putting herself out there, allowing them to ask anything. She just hoped it wouldn't get to personal.  
  
"Where did you get that amulet?"  
  
She guessed wrong.  
  
"Umm...my sire gave these to his students after their fifth year of training."  
  
"But Zachariah had one. Was he your sire?"  
  
"Yes Velma. He was."  
  
"What did he teach you?"  
  
"Magick."  
  
"You know magick? Like pulling rabbits out of your hat and sawing people in half?" Shaggy asked.  
  
Jaguar shook her head, smiling slightly. "No. More like this." She stood up and walked over to the fireplace. She hooked the amulet around her neck and raised her right hand so the palm faced the burning flame. She closed her eyes and slowly brought her hand away, making it into a fist. The fire slowly dimmed until it was completely out. Jaguar turned around and opened her fist to show an intensely burning ball of flame. She tossed it to one hand then back to the first. Everyone did a pretty good impression of a bug as she tossed the ball from one hand to the other as if it was a tennis ball and not a flaming orb. "These kind of 'tricks' Shaggy." Jaguar turned easily back around and tossed the ball back into the hearth. The flames flared out then sunk back to normal size.  
  
"How...How did you..." For the first time Velma was at a loss for words.  
  
Jaguar smiled. She felt slightly relaxed now that she had let a bit of her power escape. She had too much pint up and it made her tense. 'At least tomorrow I'll get a good work out.  
  
Back to the others. "How did I do that?" The bookworm nodded. "It's a little complicated. Basically I just thought of the fire as nothing more then a ball that I could hold in my hand. I used my power to shape it that way and viola! Instant fireball."  
  
"And why did you not tell us you had these powers?" Rose asked.  
  
Jaguar winced as the accusation. "Well because I thought that...I umm," Now it was the Hunter's turn to be hindered in the speaking department. Finally she sighed and shrugged. "I guess it just never came up." Rose nodded, excepting the answer, as lame as it was. "Anymore questions?" Jaguar sat down, pulling Thorn's head into her lap.  
  
"Yeah. What are those?" Freddy nudged the box on the coffee table. The group watched, as both Jaguar and Nichole's faces grew serious.  
  
"They're called Soul Stones." Nichole answered. She pulled the box onto her knees and opened it. Taking one out she opened it to show a purple ball. "Each one holds a soul of someone passed."  
  
"Why does Zachariah have all of these?" Celeb asked.  
  
"Because. He wants to bring about Aamngreka."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"The end of the world. Aamngreka is when the earth will open up and demons from hell will climb from their godforsaken hole and kill the people of earth." Nichole eyed Shaggy and Scooby critically for a moment, fearing that they were going to feint.  
  
"Why does he want to bring this up?" Daphne asked, her voice shaking. Freddy took his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it, trying to convey to her more courage then he actually had.  
  
"Because Cú believes that with the earth cleansed, as he calls it, he can make a new world with him as the ruler." Nichole replied.  
  
"How did he get all these?"  
  
"These are from the victims he's killed." Jaguar looked inside the box and pulled out two boxes that looked newer then the others. She opened them to reveal a pink one and a yellow one. "These are the souls of Megan and Elizabeth." The women's faces floated on the surface of the ball before disappearing again.  
  
"My god."  
  
"Jaguar what was that ball you took out of my hand?" Shaggy asked. Jaguar closed her eyes. She replaced the two containers back into the wooden box and pulled out one with the letters R.J. on it. She opened it to reveal once more the golden orb.  
  
"This...is my soul."  
  
~*~  
  
A pounding on the back of her head made Thorn wince. She tried to lay a hand on it but only came in contact with toned muscles. She opened her eyes to see that her head was lying in Jaguar's lap.  
  
Jaguar stopped short as she felt a hand hit the inside of her thigh. She looked down to see that Thorn was groggy but waking up.  
  
"Thorn."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"One of Cú goons jumped ya." The Hunter ignored the glare she got from Nichole.  
  
"Oh." With Jaguar's help Thorn sat up and leaned back against the couch.  
  
"Are you all right Thorn?" Velma asked.  
  
"Yeah. Other then the bass drum I got pounding in my head I'm great." The singer said sarcastically. She looked around and her eyes landed on the Soul Stone box in Nichole's lap. "What are those?" Her eyes traveled up to Nichole's face and she practically jumped back. "And what are you doing here?"  
  
"Whoa there Thorn. She's not going to pull anything. Isn't that right Nichole?" Jaguar glanced over her shoulder at Nichole who nodded. The Hunter pulled her girlfriend back down onto the seat. "And to your second question these are Soul Stones."  
  
"All right I seriously missed something. What was it?" Jaguar began to do a short recap of what they were talking about before she woke up. It was short because some of the stuff Jaguar had all ready told the singer, about Cú and Aamngreka and the Soul Stones. But when she told her about the golden orb Thorn's eyes widened.  
  
"But how? I thought that only happened when ya died."  
  
Jaguar sighed. "There's something that I haven't told anyone before. It's somethin' I don't like to think off too often but it'll answer your questions. When I was five I had a fever that no one was able to break. I...I don't remember everything but what I do is waking up to see my mother and father crying. I asked them what was wrong but they never told me. The next thing I know is that Cú is taking me away and that was the last time I ever saw my parents. They were killed soon after words they were killed. I realize now that he had killed them and entrapped their souls in these stones, very much as he did mine." She clenched her fists so her nails were biting into her flesh and she willed the angry tears not to flow. "I will make him pay," Gazing deep into the orb, Jaguar caught the image of her and her family together and rising fury caused her voice to turn into an almost inhuman growl. "Even if it takes the other part of my soul to do it."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ow. Fingers...cramping. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope your butts didn't get tiered from sitting too long.  
  
Sorry if some parts of the story just plain sucked or didn't make sense. My brain started to fizzle out.  
  
Anyway, review and tell me what parts you thought were good and what parts I should probably change.  
  
Later! 


	11. Beginning of the End: Part 1

CHAPTER: The Beginning of the End: Part 1 AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW! Also. If you see any words encase by these ** ** it means that the person is speaking in a different language.  
  
The afternoon sun beat down on everyone's heads.  
  
"This is really strange. Yesterday it was like a tornado and now it's bright and sunny. I wonder how that could be."  
  
"Cú. He loves to flex his power anyway he can." Jaguar said quietly. She and the others walked along the street to where the concert was being held. The plan was to get a feel for the land so there wouldn't be any tricks. Jaguar was sure that her old sire would be striking at the festival. More then likely when the Hex Girls were playing. More people together, more targets to kill.  
  
Sweat beaded on the woman's forehead. She had on her trench coat despite the nearly ninety-degree weather, to conceal her falchion and gun. Rose had on her own cloak, hiding the quiver and arrows while Celeb wore a leather jacket to hide the buck knife. Though they were sweating like pigs they knew it was necessary just in case Cú became to eager and decided to start the party early.  
  
They crossed the street and plopped down into the shade of the oak trees in a secluded spot. Jaguar took off her jacket, welcoming the air across her sweltering skin. She also took off her weapons, hid them then stood. "Celeb. I need ya to change."  
  
"But," The black man looked at the Scooby Gang.  
  
"They're going to find out anyway. Besides I need you to smell if Cú or any of his thugs have been around lately."  
  
Celeb sighed and nodded. He stood and took off his jacket. "You guys might want to look away if you don't want to see me naked." He growled. The group's eyes, minus Rose, Jaguar and Nathaniel's, widened and their mouths dropped.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just do it." He waited until everyone's eyes were closed or turned away before stripping to his birthday suit. He then closed his eyes and searched his mind. Finding where the animal slept he woke it up and instantly felt the change come over him. He doubled over as his skin bubbled and bones crunched.  
  
Every heard the loud popping and crunching and looked over to see as man merged into animal. Something once only thought to happen in fairy tails was happening right in front of them.  
  
Celeb screwed his eyes shut at the sharp pain of his spine snapping, shrinking then fusing back together then the sweet release. His hands and feet turned to paws, nails hardened and shrank and a pelt and tail sprouted from naked flesh. Then the hardest part took place. The jawbones grew and formed a muzzle, followed by the teeth growing and becoming sharper. With a growl Celeb, or more accurately Cerberus, shook his entire body and danced around, trying to stretch its muscles.  
  
"All right all right. Get over here." Jaguar bent down as the dog walked over. "I need you to search around and try to find any sign if Cú or the others have been around lately." The dog nodded and darted off into the wood.  
  
"Can I go help him?" Nathaniel asked.  
  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Nat." Rose replied.  
  
"Yeah. Cerberus's got it." Jaguar ruffled the boy's hair playfully before turning to look at the group. There wasn't one eye that wasn't wide or one mouth not hung open. "What was that?" She asked their silent question. The group nodded. "Well that is was you'd call...a weredog."  
  
"Weredog?"  
  
"Yeah Velma. See most people only know about werewolves but there are different kinds of changelings out there. Weretigers, Weresnakes, even Werespiders." The group just looked at the blonde in completely dumbfounded. Jaguar laughed and scratched her head. "Sorry if I just confused you even more." She turned around at the sound of the black dog returning. "That was fast." Cerberus growled and Jaguar nodded. "Really. Where?" The dog took off running with the Hunter trailing behind.  
  
"I hate it when she does that." Rose grumbled. "Sometimes she knows too much about other changelings. Even for a changeling herself."  
  
"She's a changeling?" Freddy asked.  
  
"Oops." Rose covered her mouth.  
  
"Nice going sis." Nathaniel nudged his sister in the leg.  
  
"Shit. Don't let Jaguar know that you know. She'll kill me." The group still looked shocked but nodded. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Rose let out a relieved breath just as Jaguar and Cerberus came back.  
  
"What did you find?" Velma asked.  
  
"It seems that they were here not too long ago. They had tried to set up a trap but luckily we found it."  
  
"A trap for who?"  
  
"Us." Jaguar pulled from inside her cloak what looked to be a landmine. "Cú knew that we'd be looking and so he set this up." She placed it back into her coat.  
  
"Are you sure that safe?"  
  
"Yeah. I disarmed it." The blonde made sure the device was tucked safely away before turning to Cerberus. "All right. I think that's it. You can change back." The dog nodded. Ever one turned away and waited as the man changed back and put his clothes on.  
  
"Okay." Eyes turned back and opened.  
  
"So, like, what do we do now?" Shaggy asked.  
  
"Relax and have fun. That's all we can do." The Hunter replied. "Rose. Why don't you guys go with Freddy and them? I, uh, got some things to finish up. I'll see you guys back at Thorn's place at around...what? One thirty?"  
  
"Sure." Rose nodded.  
  
"All right. I'll see ya." And with that the Hunter took off into the forest.  
  
"Come on guys. Let's go get something to eat." They agreed quickly to Shaggy's suggestions and walked down to Jake's restaurant. More people were in today since the weather was slightly more agreeable. Jake looked happy as he walked to the various tables, serving people and joking with the townsfolk.  
  
"I can't wait to eat." Shaggy grinned.  
  
"Reah." Scooby licked his chops as they found a table and sat down.  
  
~*~  
  
Jaguar flopped down on her bed and discarded her long coat and weapons. Even though she thought she had gotten over the fear of Cú there was still a part of her that was the little girl that would cower whenever she messed up, fearing that a whip or hand would strike her next.  
  
She pulled her pack to her and rummaged around until she found a small pouch. Her mother and father gave it to her just before her fifth birthday. Before she fell ill and was sentenced to Hell.  
  
Pulling the drawstrings open revealed a golden cross, a ring. Taking both items out of the velvet pouch she set it aside and examined the objects she hadn't held in so long. The cross was a golden one with a pentagram right at the center. It had been passed down in her family for many generations. She could practically feel her family's presence when she held it close. Feel her mother's gentle touch, her father's bear hugs or her big brother's playful punches.  
  
She smiled then turned to look at the ring. It too was gold and nothing more then a simple band but inside was an inscription written in her native tongue. It read; 'Ill aoweye biee wote yeu.' Which in English meant: 'I'll always be with you.' It was as if her parents knew that they'd be separated and wanted to make the parting easier.  
  
The Hunter hooked the necklace around her neck and clasped the ring tightly. Her eyes screwed shut and words she'd only spoken a few times before came out.  
  
"Mother. Father. I need help. Tomorrow I face the one man, or thing, that scares me. I don't know if I can make it." She looked out the window into the clear sky. "I have so many lives to protect. Not just the town's but the world's as well. I tell the others that I am ready to fight but inside I don't know. Will I be able to fight tomorrow? Will I find the strength to overcome my fears or will they finally drag me into the depths of my soul that I had always wished never to venture again?" She once again dug into her knapsack and pulled out a picture. It was slightly worn but the picture was still clear. It was of her family in front of their home. They were a happy family then...  
  
But that happiness was cut short by a man named Cú. To everyone else he was a righteous man with a strong interest in helping others. But that was only an act. A sham put on by a man that wanted nothing more then power. He was a cruel teacher and a maniac. Why had her parent's let her go with him? Was it because he had saved her life?  
  
"He didn't save my life. He condemned it." She closed her eyes and willed the tears away but this time they didn't leave. They flowed from her eyes freely. Her entire body shook with the effort to keep them back. "Why? Why did they have to die? This can't be happening. I can't protect anyone."  
  
~*~  
  
"Nathaniel! Be careful!" Celeb called out to the little boy as he ran ahead of them, chasing Scooby.  
  
Shaggy shook his head at the sight of the Great Dane acting like nothing more then a puppy. "He really likes Nathan."  
  
"Yeah. Nat kinda grows on you." Rose paused. "Great. I just made my little brother sound like a fungus."  
  
"But this he's, like, a cute fungus." Shaggy joked.  
  
"Let's get off the fungus thing." Rose replied. They lapsed into silence as they continued on their way.  
  
~*~  
  
It almost six o'clock and the entire gang was walking around the festival grounds. Celeb and Jaguar were both carrying large duffle bags in each hand, each full of weapons for the night's fight except for one which held the Soul Stones. They hoped that there would be no need for all of them but one thing you learned in the business of being a Hunter was to be better safe then sorry. They had spent most of the day just relaxing, playing games and walking around. Now it was nearly ten minutes until the concert started and they were making their way over to the concert grounds.  
  
"What are we going to do with these?" Freddy motioned to the bags.  
  
"When we get there I'll hide 'em. Then we'll wait for Cú to make his attack." The nine made their way over to the stands. Jaguar and Nichole volunteered to stand over the bags and hide them so the others took a seat on the wooden benches.  
  
"Do you think he'll attack soon?" Nichole whispered as she looked out at the crowd.  
  
For a moment Jaguar only looked at the people. So innocent. So pure. "Yeah. If I know Cú, and sadly I do, he'll attack right in the middle." She replied in quiet tones.  
  
The two were cut off from anymore talking by the Hex Girls' arrival. Cheers punctured the dusk air as the three made their way onto the stage.  
  
"Hey Oakhaven!" Thorn called, placing the guitar strap around over her shoulder and beaming up at the crowd. Her fangs glinted in the light. "Ready to rock!" Cheers exploded all around, making every Changeling fell shortly disoriented before they became used to the rumbling of the crowd.  
  
Thorn began to play the first couple of strings to 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air,' glancing back at her friends as she did this.  
  
"Ready girls?" She tried her hardest to keep her voice from shaking but she was glad anyway for the loud music that covered up any slips.  
  
"Let's do it." And with that the speakers blasted with the Hex Girl's song.  
  
Jaguar kept an eye out for Cú but her gaze kept returning to the singers and the entire crowd for that matter. There wasn't one face that wasn't smiling or laughing. Hell, even Celeb was smirking. It made even the stoic feeling Hunter crack.  
  
That was until she noticed a movement to the side of the stage. 'Shit. I didn't expect them to be this early.' She picked up all the bags and pointed out the movement to Nichole. The Changeling scowled.  
  
"Damn. They're early."  
  
"I know. Get everyone else and meet me behind the benches." With that she turned and disappeared. Nichole tapped Fred on the shoulder and whispered to him; "Come on. It's time to go."  
  
He nodded and relayed the message to the others. All of them got up and started to leave, all except for Shaggy and Scooby that is.  
  
"But they, like, just started don't you think it would be kind of rude to leave right in the beginning?"  
  
"Come on." Freddy grasped both of them by the collars and dragged them to where the others all ready stood.  
  
"All right you guys. This is it." Jaguar replied, looking at each face in turn. She had a fleeting feeling of a coach talking to his team before a big game. She quickly shook off the feeling and turned back to the matter at hand. "Now if you have any last minute questions then ask now because in a minute you won't have the chance to ask."  
  
"Yeah. Can me and Scooby, like, not do this?"  
  
Jaguar eyed them for a moment before shrugging. "If you want," Everyone was taken aback by this. No more so then Shaggy or Scooby themselves.  
  
"Reary?" Scooby asked.  
  
Jaguar nodded. "Yes. I need someone to stay here and look after the stones. You guys think you can do that for me?" They both saluted her. "Great. All right. What's going to happen is the rest of you guys are going to go around the left and I'll go right. I'm going to be the distraction so when I've drawn most of the attention you guys try to take out as many as possible."  
  
"Do we have to...kill them?" Velma asked.  
  
"You don't have to. Just try to knock them out as hard as you can." Jaguar answered. She picked up two bags and handed one to Celeb then the other to Nichole. "Take these and pray we won't need them." Taking the third bag she straitened. "Let's do it." They silently agreed then turned and went their separate ways, trying hard not to bring attention to themselves. Scooby and Shaggy watched their friends leave before hefting the last bag up and returning to their seat. Nichole and Rose leaded the group to their spot with Celeb bringing up the rear.  
  
Jaguar watched them go, praying to any god or goddess that would listen to keep them save, before moving herself. She hefted the bag over her shoulder and slinked across the shadowed grounds. While she moved, as effortlessly and unnoticeable as breathing the woman changed in to the Hunter. Her emotions steeled, her eyes hardened and her entire demeanor toughened.  
  
Golden eyes traveled along the happy crowd and for but a moment her façade slipped. They were so happy. So naïve. But if they were to survive the inevitable horror that was coming that bliss would have to be sacrificed. It was a heavy price but it was either that or millions of souls were to be condemned to an eternity in Hell's fire.  
  
Her front hardened once more and she looked around the corner of the backdrop. There he stood. Cú. He was ordering around other, some she recognized, others she didn't, but all of them looked ready for a fight if need be. Blocking out the Hex Girl's song she zeroed in on her old sire's words.  
  
"Hurry up you insolent beings! We must hurry. The time is at hand." He seethed.  
  
Jaguar set the bag aside, making sure it was hidden, then stepped out of the shadows and drew her gun. "For all of you to die? Yeah I'd have to agree with that." She aimed the barrel at Cú. His eyes traveled from his help to the Hunter with what looked to be a bored stare.  
  
"Rebecca. What are you doing here?"  
  
"My name isn't Rebecca anymore Cú. It's Jaguar. And I came to finish what I started."  
  
"Are you going to kill me Rebecca? You don't have it in you."  
  
"Don't test me Cú." Jaguar growled. Her eyes momentarily left the man to scan the others. Sure enough she had everyone's attention. It surprised her that none of them noticed the group hiding in the shadows, or at least smelt them. Quickly she returned her gaze back to cold black eyes.  
  
"What are you going to do pup?"  
  
She squeezed the trigger, thankful that she had remembered to put the silence on earlier and fired, hitting Cú square in the shoulder.  
  
"Now guys." Rose growled. In a flash the nine jumped the closest opponent, effectively knocking them out. But that left around twelve or thirteen more.  
  
Cú whirled around to see what the commotion was. When his eyes landed on the ambushers he laughed a laugh that made all in the proximity shiver.  
  
"So. This is you're idea of trying to stop the inevitable, Rebecca?" He clicked his tongue, turning to look at her. "I would have expected better from my best student, pup."  
  
"Yeah well. I think we can handle you." Jaguar said with more confidence then she felt. Her heart was beginning to beat faster but she tried to focus. She knew that if she didn't everything would be lost. So she steeled her resolve and glared at Cú. He was clutching his injured shoulder and blood was beginning to stain the dark robe.  
  
Slowly she edged to her right so her back was to the stage. Another thing you learned quickly was never keep your back open for too long.  
  
"Everyone drop what you have or I give Cú a matchin' hole in the other shoulder."  
  
"What hole?" Cú asked, laughing evilly. His hand fell away from the wound to show blood stained flesh but no wound.  
  
"Fuck." Jaguar gasped in surprise. The distraction cost her deeply.  
  
"Biaee Sahler!" The Sorcerer created a fireball and hurtled it at his old student. Jaguar barely had time to throw up her hands before the attack hit her square on. The strike lifted her off her feet and through the backdrop. The Hex Girl's song greeted the Hunter but she paid it no heed as her back came in contact with the hard stage. Her gun skidded off somewhere as she rolled for a short time before coming to a stop on her stomach. Her arms and chest hurt like hell and looking down she saw that her skin was scorched and charred.  
  
"Fuck." She struggled to rise, wincing slightly at the twinge from her burns. She sat back on her haunches and tried to steady her breathing.  
  
"Jaguar!" The Hunter looked up to see that every eye was either on her or the gaping hole in the background. Thorn set her guitar down and ran to her friend's side. "What happened? Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine." Jaguar rose to her full height, pulling the singer up with her and looked at the hole. Cú was walking through it, grinning mercilessly at her. Instinctively Jaguar pulled Thorn behind her and drew her falchion.  
  
"My, my Rebecca. I'd have thought you'd be better able to take a hit like that. It was one of my smaller ones after all."  
  
"I'm still standing and breathin' aren't I?" She hopped onto the stage and walked forward, motioning for Dawn and Luna to run. As they did she stood dead center in the middle of the stage and looked at her old sire.  
  
Cú looked around at the people. "Look at all the people." His smile grew like a kid's at a candy store. "More to kill."  
  
A gasp raced through the stands but it only made Jaguar walk closer, trying her hardest to keep Cú from moving anywhere. "You're killing no one and you're defiantly not going to use Tortert on anyone."  
  
"Who's going to stop me? Your friends can't help. They've been captured."  
  
"What?" The Hunter turned to see that he was speaking the truth. Every single one of the back up was in the clutches of Cú's goons. 'Shit.'  
  
"What's wrong, pup? Afraid that your curse will strike again?"  
  
"Shut up about that." Her anger returned and with it a new sense of determination. "Let them go."  
  
"You know Rebecca." Cú continued as if nothing had been said. "I thought I had taught you about right and wrong."  
  
"Your idea or right and wrong are very different from mine."  
  
"Quite. See for me you'd no longer be a pup because you tasted innocent blood. Not only once I might add." A malicious grin appeared on his face as he watched the Hunter pale. "You remember then. The way their flesh felt when you ripped it apart. How sweet their hot blood tasted as it spilled down your throat. Especially the girl's."  
  
"We're not vampires Cú." Jaguar tried to keep her voice stable but the onslaught of images hit her.  
  
"No. We are something more. We are more powerful. You could have been as powerful as I if only you hadn't of run."  
  
"You expected me to stay with you when I found out that you killed my parents? I'd sooner die."  
  
"That can be arranged." He snapped his fingers and in less time then it took for anyone to blink the remaining goons had jumped the Hunter. Like lightening Jaguar took out three of them but the other two, both bigger then her, double-teamed and quickly pinned her. Her weapons skittered just out of her reach. Animalistic growls escaped the Hunter as she tried to free herself from her captives. Both began to beat her until she was barely hanging onto consciousness.  
  
"Now my dear Rebecca. Watch. Watch as I become the ruler of this world." He turned towards the stands and waved a hand as if beckoning someone towards him.  
  
Scooby and Shaggy both gulped and stared at each other wide-eyed from where they were hidden. A yelped escaped them both as the box lifted up, taking them with it. "No. You're, like, not going to take this, man."  
  
"Do not try to stop me human. You are not strong enough."  
  
Scooby and Shaggy struggled to keep the chest back but to no avail.  
  
Everyone watched helplessly as Cú took back the one thing that could have prevented him from completing the ritual.  
  
"Restrain them." Two more goons ran out of nowhere and restrained the two. "Thank you so much for giving me these back. I've missed them dearly." He opened the box and took out a familiar golden orb. "Especially this one. Ryan! Take these and set them up!" Ryan scurried forward, took the box from his sire and hurried to the middle of the clearing and began to set up the spell. Cú walked forward and knelt down in front of Jaguar. "I just need the other part of your soul and I can finally achieve my dream. But before you die I want to make your last few moments on 'this' earth...memorable." He straitened and turned toward the captives. "Bring forward Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel!" He boomed. The three were quickly brought over and stood in front of the warlock. Nathaniel whimpered in fear, his dark eyes glassy with tears. "Who should I test my powers on first, Rebecca? Rose? Or how about Celeb? No. I know. The little one."  
  
"No!" Jaguar yelled, her voice slipping as her mind swam. She was walking the edge and this wasn't helping. "Leave...him alone...Cú. He's only a...a boy."  
  
"You're right. I'll make it all the more quick." He turned back to the boy and beckoned the boy forward. Celeb fought hard against his captors, as did Rose. Both almost succeeded but it was too late. The spell had all ready begun.  
  
"**Yelu, God of agony and pain, Bestow on this weakling your present to all those yet to be slain, Flesh to Liquid, Bone to Dust, Bring about your bloody lust!**"  
  
Nathaniel looked around wildly as he was lifted into the air and from Cú's hand exploded a vile orange light. It encompassed the boy and everyone watched as his body began to twist. The sound of bones snapping made even the strongest stomach roll.  
  
Jaguar diverted her eyes, but it was too late. The image was securely brunt into her brain. His cries of pain and fear made the strong Hunter shed tears as she realized that once again she couldn't save someone she loved.  
  
"How does it feel Rebecca? To know that even with all of your strength, all of your weapons you still cannot help one small boy! You are no Hunter! You are a killer!"  
  
Cú words ricocheted through the woman's skull. That mixed with the throbbing pain, Nathaniel's screams and her own pity finally pushed the woman over the edge into darkness.  
  
~*~  
  
More screams filled Jaguar's head as she slipped back into the world of the alert. Golden eyes looked up to watch as Celeb's flesh bubbled and his intestines and other organs slopped onto the ground, joining those of Rose and Nathaniel.  
  
"Ah. You're finally awake, pup. I thought you were going to miss what I have in store for you."  
  
"Yeah," Her hoarse throat cracked. "More surprises."  
  
"Yes. I saved the best for last." He turned and waved his hand again. Jaguar turned and watched with utter horror as Thorn was pulled forward and lifted into the air. She tried to struggle but the guys on top of her wouldn't budge. "Aren't you going to try and save you're little girlfriend here, pup? I mean you weren't able to save the others." He motioned to the steaming pile of flesh on the ground.  
  
"Don't...don't you dare...touch her."  
  
"What are you going to do about it? You're weak in your human skin? Are you just going to watch her die like your parents? Like Michael? Did you know they were whimpering and cowering when I killed them?"  
  
The Hunter felt her anger, which was all ready at the surface begin to boil over. "You're brother. To all Gods in heaven that boy is a coward. Ran away with his tail between his legs." The haze that had been clouding the woman's vision now turned blood red. A long forgotten churn in both her mind and her soul was first signal to the animal's arrival.  
  
"You will not touch her." The Hunter's voice was distant and cold, making every head turn in her direction in surprise. Power that she hadn't felt in so long rushed through her veins, pushing away any pain, any weakness it encountered. "You will touch no one!" The two goons holding her down where thrown from her changing form with the force of an explosion. They landed a good fifty feet away and lay still. Eyes traveled from the still forms back to the Hunter. Her body seemed to be surrounded with and golden red aura that radiated power and fury. The golden fur that surrounded her seemed to stand on end, due to her vigor or ferocity was uncertain but she looked terrifying none-the-less.  
  
With a growl she bolted forward, her long legs making the yards seem like inches as she raced towards Cú. Without breaking a step Jaguar launched into the air, grabbed Thorn and pulled her away from the magic. She tucked the smaller woman close to her body so no harm came to her.  
  
Thorn felt her body jar as Jaguar grabbed her from the force field or whatever had her but then only felt strong arms around her, protecting her.  
  
When they landed Thorn looked up into a golden eye. She truly wondered if this creature, as magnificent as it was, was her love. But the caring and worry in the golden orb was answer enough.  
  
"Are you all right Thorn?"  
  
The deep, rumbling voice ran through the singer like thunder, but she did manage a; "Yes." Jaguar only nodded before helping her to stand on her own, then turned to looked at a stunned, but smiling, Cú.  
  
"So. You have gotten over you're fear."  
  
Jaguar walked forward gracefully, like a predator stalking its prey. "You may call it fear Cú. You may not. But whatever it was is now gone and right now you have one pissed off werewolf on your hands."  
  
"I'm very frightened." Cú said dryly. "If you wish to fight me fine. We shall fight but when I win I will enjoy watching your soul become trapped like the others."  
  
"I look forward to it." Jaguar replied sardonically. She dropped her body to a fighting stance and waited as Cú decided to transform. Now, both in their furs, they faced off. Images of a long since dead past flashed by making Jaguar feel the familiar fear from seeing her old sire again. 'No. Do not show fear. It is a weakness and one you cannot afford right now.' She pushed the fear away from her and focused on the monster in front of her. His black fur made him stand out against the white of the stage.  
  
"I have been waiting for this moment for awhile now, pup. Let's just see what all those years of killing your own kind have done to you."  
  
And with that the fight of the world began.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ On to part 2!  
  
Which will be up as soon as I edit it. 


	12. Beginning of the End: Part 2

CHAPTER: The Beginning of the End: Part 2 AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course) DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW! Also. If you see any words encase by these ** ** it means that the person is speaking in a different language.  
  
~*~  
  
Jaguar rolled to her right, narrowly escaping yet another fireball. Leaning back against the wood of the bench she tried to steady her breathing. She and Cú had been fighting for little more then an hour now but it seemed like an eternity. While the two fought she had thrown up a shield to protect the innocents. Why they didn't leave? She had no clue but that wasn't what was bothering her. What was, was her own self. She felt an unhampered bloodlust wanting to break free but she kept it down. That created a whole new set of problems as reigning in the bloodlust took up nearly half her concentration.  
  
But battling Cú was becoming increasingly difficult. Just a simple look at the two told who was winning. Sure Cú had many a cut and scrape but the Hunter was in worse shape. There was a large gash on her shoulder, the blood all ready caking the golden fur, burns on various parts of her body and her body was beginning to over heat. She hadn't of thought that the fight would be this bad but obviously she was wrong. Never had an opponent got her on the run, or got her this injured and frankly she was starting to feel the start of her doubts again. She had all ready lost Nathaniel, Celeb, Rose, and her entire family for that matter. Now she wouldn't be able to save anyone else.  
  
Another fireball to her right cut off the woman's thoughts. She whirled around, waiting for the right time to jump out and make a break for him. It came not even a minute later when Ryan yelled to the warlock, telling him that the stones were set up. Faster then lighting Jaguar careened around the corner and ran straight at Cú. Luckily she had caught him off guard and was able to pin him to the ground. Her claws clamped around his throat and for a mere second there was a flash of fear in his eyes. That flash did not go unnoticed by the Hunter's eyes and it only seemed to fuel the already raging inferno that was her blood lust. It caught her so off guard that she had to think quickly to herself: 'Alun: Goddess of Serenity. Calm this beast inside of me.' The peace over took her, momentarily over- reigning the bloodlust and allowing her to focus.  
  
But that hesitation was enough to make her regret it. Cú created the biggest shot yet and sent it flying at her. Jaguar grasped onto something that would slow her but it gave way and she went flying. Cú stood up and dusted off his cloak. He glared angrily at his old student. "You are pathetic Rebecca. Not even in your top form, where you should be able to at least hurt me, you cannot. I know what is holding you back. Your love for these pesky humans. Your mortal soul. Pfft." He scoffed. "Pathetic. You can save no one."  
  
Jaguar laid limply on the ground, trying to regain her senses while the man's words hung over her with the truth of them. He was right. If she were to save anyone she would have to give into her bloodlust. To let go of any restrictions. But she was scared. She remembered the last time that happened. There had been so many dead innocents that the blood of all of them made her fur crimson.  
  
"Choose Rebecca! Either un-reign your true self. Or watch as all those close to you die!"  
  
Jaguar stayed unmoving. Her limbs were still stinging uncontrollably from the attack and her mind was racing.  
  
"As you wish Rebecca! Now breathe your last!" Cú walked over to the stones. They had been placed in a pentacle with an opening in one of the apexes. Cú stood there and raised his arms over the formation.  
  
"**Creatures of Nidmore! Open the ground so you may climb from its fiery pits. A thousand souls to open up the entrance. You may now settle a millennia score. Push the righteous and good to the Hell's scorching core.**"  
  
As the last syllable was uttered there was a violent tremor under the earth and it began to split open. Trees and loose earth fell into the fiery depths as demons of all imaginable size and shape crawled from it.  
  
Jaguar rolled sluggishly to her side to keep from falling as well. She lifted her head and watched in horror as the demons began to kill those close. Fear constricted the Hunter's lungs and heart until she feared she would blackout again. Blood rushed in her ears, nearly drowning out the sounds of blazing fires, screaming innocents and cackling demons.  
  
"Jaguar! Help!" The werewolf whipped around to see Thorn, Dusk and Luna being attacked by one of the monsters. The look of terror in the three's eyes, especially Thorn's made something in Jaguar snapped. The fear disappeared to be replaced by a cold numbness, like her soul was being covered in ice. Her vision gained a red haze as she crawled to her feet, standing her full height. Bloodlust was now reigning over her and the old feeling of being invincible ran through her in waves. She tilted her head back and let out a loud, long, angry howl that rose over any other noise. Everything stopped and turned to the angry werewolf.  
  
Blood red eyes stood out against flaxen fur as the muzzle pulled back in a snarl that made most of the demons cower. "Move one more step and I kill you where you stand." It was a deep throaty growl that made everyone shiver. Even Cú looked slightly frightened.  
  
One of the more bold demons took a step forward and quicker then anything ever seen he was cut down with a swipe of Jaguar's claws. She looked down at the blood on her hands then down at the demon. "I told you not to move." She licked a drop of blood from her finger then turned an evil smile towards the others. "Who's next?"  
  
Some imps scuttled back to the opening in the ground but Jaguar would have none of it. She threw her hand out in front of her and screamed; "Biaee Faoed!" A wave of fire quickly disintegrated the imps that tried to run. "You guys wanted to come out and play. Don't start runnin' now." She turned to look at the remaining demons. "So. Who's going to try and kill me?"  
  
In a wave that would have killed any regular human, or normal creature for that matter, the remaining fiends rushed Jaguar. There was a tense moment as it looked like the werewolf had been killed but suddenly a pillar of fire burned straight up and knocked away demons. The ones that remained scrambled over each other to get out of there. They were demons of Hell but even the devil himself would be scared of this one, who fought with no soul and took immense pleasure in the kill.  
  
Thorn gaped as she watched the supposed vile fiends of Hell run away from the woman like insects. For a moment she could empathize with them. Jaguar, or whoever now stood in front of them, was fighting with no feeling. No. That wasn't true. She did feel. Feel the massive joy as she took a life. For the first time the singer felt fear looking at the Hunter.  
  
Cú stared in unabashed awe as his student. He felt pride swell in his chest. This was the killer that he had merely glimpsed at back in China. So cold. So ruthless. So perfect. He knew that she would kill anyone that she wished without batting an eye. "Perfect."  
  
Jaguar's acute hearing picked up on the word breathed by her old sire. She turned to him and glared. "You better believe I am." She growled.  
  
"This. This is the one that I remember. The one that killed who she pleased." Cú grinned like a mad man as he walked towards her.  
  
"Hell ya."  
  
"I have a proposition for you pup. Join me and we will rule this world together."  
  
Jaguar thought about this seriously for a moment before nodding. "All right. You got a deal. Oh and one more thing." She lashed out and grabbed his throat. "You ever call me 'pup' again and I'll kill ya. Got it?"  
  
Cú nodded. "Of course. My apologies."  
  
Seeming satisfied Jaguar let go and looked at the others. "So. What do we do?"  
  
"Well you did just drive away the demons that were meant to kill these humans."  
  
"I'll do it." The blonde werewolf agreed easily.  
  
"I was hoping you would. How about you start with that one." He pointed to Thorn. "She is a good target. I assure you."  
  
Saliva dripped down Jaguar's jowls as she anticipated the oncoming kill. "I look forward to it." She walked forward, her eyes fixed hungrily on Thorn. When she was in arm's distance someone tackled her to the ground, stopping her. Jaguar growled in anger and looked up to see Nichole in her furs and pinning her to the ground. "Get off me."  
  
"No. Come back to us Rebecca. Don't become that killer again. You're better then that."  
  
"I won't become weak. I am perfect as I am now." Jaguar wrenched her arm free and grabbed Nichole by the throat. Rising slowly she held the smaller werewolf high above her. "Join the others." She began to squeeze the air out of Nichole's lungs.  
  
Thorn looked up in shock at Jaguar. Seeing the deepening blue of Nichole's skin she did the only thing she could she ran forward, intent on trying to free Nichole. But all she did was get herself captured in the blonde werewolf's vice grip. "What's the rush love?" Jaguar turned from Nichole to look at the singer. "You'll get your chance to die."  
  
"Not...if I h-have a say." Nichole gasped as she pulled a silver dagger from her belt and stabbed into Jaguar's muscled forearm, effectively freeing Thorn.  
  
"You bitch." Jaguar let Thorn go and grabbed onto the other werewolf's shoulder. "I'll make you pay." She clutched Nichole under the chin in an attempt to break her neck but she never got the chance as the dagger was ripped from her arm and jammed into her side.  
  
Thorn let go of the dagger, praying that she hadn't hit anything important and watched as Nichole dropped to the ground, coughing and hacking, and Jaguar staggered back. Blood dripped down from both wounds, slightly surprising the Hunter. In that moment of surprise her virtuous soul decided to break free.  
  
Golden eyes widened, as the bloodlust understood what was happening. She shook her head as if to dispel the oncoming battle of wills but it was no use; the good in her had a hold and wasn't letting go. Whirling around she glared at Thorn and made to lunge at her but her soul stopped her. She fell to the ground, grabbing her head and howling in pain as it felt as if her head was splitting open and her soul was being ripped in two.  
  
"No." She whimpered. "No."  
  
Thorn moved forward slowly, careful of the werewolf. Her heart was tearing at the sound of her lover crying but her brain was telling her to be careful. This wasn't her girlfriend in front of her, or not completely anyway. This was a killing machine that didn't feel guilt.  
  
Jaguar squeezed her golden eyes shut in an attempt to block out the rush of images bombarding her senses. Some of them were good, like her and Thorn's first kiss. But most weren't so great. Nathaniel as he was turned into a human pretzel: the look of pure fear on everyone's faces: the feeling of utter loneliness when news of her family's death reached her. All of it swirled faster and faster around her mind until it was all an endless blur of sight and sound. 'Please. Someone put me out of my misery.'  
  
Thorn listened sadly to the whimpers coming from Jaguar until finally her heart won. She gathered Jaguar in her arms and whispered in her ear. "Jag. Come back. Come back to us Jaguar. Don't become a monster. Please. I...I love you too much to lose you. Don't leave me." She repeated the words over and over again in Jaguar's ear tenderly, praying that the woman would hear.  
  
Jaguar felt the pain increase and the tempo of the rushing pictures raise another notch when she heard something cut through the nightmare. It was a voice. It started off soft but as the Hunter listened it began to become clearer and louder. "Back to us Jaguar. Don't become a monster. Please. I love you too much to lose you. Don't leave me."  
  
'Thorn?' The blonde began to struggle to reach the source of the voice. She didn't know if it was her own self-thinking these things or it was from the outside but either way it was an anchor that she latched onto with all her might.  
  
~*~  
  
Cú watched in disgusted horror as the flaxen werewolf practically broke down. He was sure that nothing would stop her. But it seemed he was wrong. That...bitch of a musician had destroyed the perfect killer.  
  
And now he was going to destroy her.  
  
"**Yelu, God of agony and pain, Bestow on this weakling your present to all those yet to be slain, Flesh to Liquid, Bone to Dust, Bring about your bloody lust!**"  
  
The orange light flew from his hand but it never hit its target. Nichole had jumped in front of the beam and created a force field. It was weak but enough to deflect the attack.  
  
"Damn you Nichole!"  
  
"I won't let you hurt them." Nichole growled. She turned slightly to glance at Thorn and the shaking Jaguar. "Hurry up Thorn. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him off."  
  
"I'm trying but I don't know if she can hear me."  
  
"Oh she can hear ya alright. She's just havin' a hard time listening."  
  
"What?" Thorn looked up at the werewolf in confusion.  
  
"Not important. What is, is that you just try and get her back."  
  
~*~  
  
Jaguar felt the darkness inside of her pull her further down but Thorn's words continued to strengthen her, giving her the vigor she needed to leave this Hell that was part of her soul and get back to those that mattered the most to her. The sound of blood pumping in her ears lessened, the numbness melted away and Jaguar became aware of her surroundings.  
  
Golden eyes opened to see Nichole in front of her, blocking attacks and weakening with every hit.  
  
'God. How long was I out?'  
  
~*~  
  
Cú noticed that Nichole was weakening and one last hit would do her in. Then he could repay the wench Thorn for destroying his perfect creation.  
  
"Eii Baager!" A black, spear looking beam exploded from Cú hand and hurtled at Nichole at breakneck speed.  
  
"Shit." Nichole winced, knowing that this would be it. Her mind thought back on her life. She hadn't lived how she wanted. She hadn't done things that she wished. Now she'd never get the chance to. 'At least I died trying to protect the one student who was smart enough to get out.' With that she closed her eyes and prepared for death.  
  
But it never came.  
  
She opened her eyes to see that Jaguar was in front of her, still shaking slightly and bleeding from various wounds but there was an aura of calm and power that surrounded her that made Nichole sure that the tides were about to change. The attack had stopped mere inches away from the Hunter's outstretched hand and was hanging there innocently.  
  
"I'm not done fighting yet Cú." With little effort she turned the bolt around and sent it hurling back. Cú was caught so off guard that the attack struck him square in the stomach. He fell to his knees, grasping the gaping wound in his belly and staring at his old pupil.  
  
Jaguar walked forward, keeping a close eye on her old sire. "It seems that the pupil is stronger then the teacher this time Cú."  
  
"Oh no my student. You are very wrong." To everyone's horror he stood up and presented his belly. The wound had already stopped bleeding and was now healing.  
  
"Fuck."  
  
"You cannot kill me. You cannot harm me while my body is only a vessel. Never." He began to laugh wildly.  
  
Jaguar quickly mused over the words. 'My body is only a vessel? Wait. That can't mean.' "You don't have a soul."  
  
"Correct. And I am immortal while my soul is safe."  
  
'Soul?' The blonde wolf turned to where she had fallen earlier. 'That was what I had a hold of. His soul stone!' She glanced back then took off running.  
  
Cú watched her run, wondering slightly what she was running after when he saw it. Lying in the grass was his Soul Stone. He placed a hand on his chest, hoping to feel it under his robes but he felt nothing. "No!!!" Now he too took off after the younger werewolf.  
  
Jaguar glanced over her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the black werewolf gaining on her. 'Damn.' Without missing a beat she dove and took hold of the vile green orb, rolled then came up to her knees. She faced the furious Cú and grinned when she saw a flash of fear in his eyes.  
  
"So. Seems that you have no other options. I'll smash this then send your body to Hell." She pointed to one of the nearest fissures.  
  
Cú gulped. He had to think quickly. An idea popped into his twisted mind. "Drae Stone!"  
  
From the still open box Jaguar's Soul Stone flew into the elder werewolf's outstretched hand. "What are you going to do now Jaguar? You destroy that and I destroy this. Can you really risk losing half your soul forever? It is quiet painful. Or so I've heard. When you die you cannot go into heaven or hell for your soul is not complete. You will forever be stuck in limbo."  
  
Without missing a beat Jaguar growled: "I'd rather be without half a soul then without the humans of earth. Good bye Cú." And with as much strength as she could muster the golden Hunter threw the orb to the ground. The second it shattered she watched as Cú crushed her own orb and a golden aura escaped to the sky above.  
  
"NOOOO!!!!!!" Cú fell to the ground and writhed as he began to disappear, shattering like the orb did.  
  
Jaguar felt a strange sense of peace wash over her as she watched her old sire's body finally vanish. "You may have caused me great pain Cú. But I am still an honorable Hunter. May the gods have mercy on you and all those that had served you." With that she turned away and walked over to Nichole and Thorn. Nichole was trying to regain her strength, lying down on the ground. Jaguar knelt next to her friend and smiled. "How are you?"  
  
"Other then the pounding headache I'm fine." Nichole smirked then turned serious. "How are you?"  
  
Jaguar looked up into Thorn's eyes and for the first time felt as if she could say truthfully; "I'm fine."  
  
"Good. Now what do we do?"  
  
"I have to let all of the spirits go."  
  
"What about th," but Nichole stopped as the ground began to mend itself, until it seemed as if nothing had occurred. "Okay. Never mind then."  
  
Thorn was quiet for a moment before a thought came to her. "I wonder why no more demons came."  
  
"Maybe the ones that actually made it told them of the scary monster waiting up here." Nichole joked.  
  
"Oh you're such a riot. Come on." Jaguar helped the older woman to stand then walk over to the formation of stones.  
  
"Hold on. We'll need a few more people to help." Nicole turned to the remaining minions. "Guys! Get over here." She called. A few of them nodded and crossed over the ground while still others stayed put. "Don't make me hurt you." She growled. Surprisingly, that convinced the remaining to move.  
  
"Remind me not to piss you off." Jaguar joked as a large group of students formed around them.  
  
"Shut up." Nichole turned away from the laughing blonde to the others. "Now that Cú is gone we don't have to follow his rule any more. We can live how we always wanted to. But first we have to free the souls that 'he' imprisoned. Help us to do that."  
  
Though not as one, all agreed.  
  
"Then after that we will place a memory charm on these people to help them forget the horrors of this night." Again they agreed to Jaguar's plan. "Let's start."  
  
~*~Five hours later~*~  
  
The Mystery Inc. Gang, The Hex Girls and Nichole all sat in Thorn's living room. Everyone was in shock and Nichole was trying her best to console them and answer their questions but she couldn't answer all of them.  
  
The minute they got back to the house Jaguar had fled upstairs and not even Thorn's coaxing could bring her down. That had been an hour ago and Jaguar was still nowhere to be seen.  
  
"What will happen now Nichole?" Freddy asked.  
  
"Well. We will put a memory charm on everyone so they don't remember this night. You guys don't need the nightmares that come with bloody battles like this."  
  
"So we'll be able to forget everything?" Shaggy asked. He was still pale and shaking like a leaf.  
  
Nichole nodded, her heart ripping at the fear in his voice. From what she had seen during the fight him and Scooby had the lowest thresholds for fear. She didn't blame them for passing out so many times or for getting sick, hell she'd done it as well.  
  
"Yes Shaggy. You won't remember a thing."  
  
Everyone seemed to be visibly calmed by the statement as shoulders relaxed and there was one collective sigh.  
  
The sound of feet coming down the stairs made all heads turned. Jaguar walked down the stairs. She was fully human now and was wearing a pair of black leather pants and white muscle t-shirt. Her wounds were wrapped up and she was clean but she still looked beaten.  
  
Haunted golden eyes lifted from the ground and the woman's voice seemed almost distant when she said; "It's time."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~ Finally! This chapter is finished! What'd ya think? Review and tell me. C-ya Later! 


	13. Forgotten

CHAPTER: Forgotten  
  
AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com  
  
RATING: R  
  
PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course)  
  
DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did.  
  
FEEDBACK: Welcome  
  
WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!  
  
Also. If you see any words encase by these ** ** it means that the person is speaking in a different language.  
  
Jaguar took the piece of chalk from her bag and drew a large circle on the hard wood floor, leaving a small space open. "Everyone. Get inside the circle and don't touch the chalk." The Hunter sat down on the nearest chair, pulling out a spell book and glancing once more over the page. Her limbs felt like lead and she would have like nothing more to sleep and never wake up but she knew that she owed it to all of them that they were relieved of tonight's horrors.  
  
This night had been hard. A battle of both strength and wills. One look at the others made Jaguar sure that, though tiered, they had won. What made the blonde envious was that she had lost the battle of wills. She had succumbed to her blood lust and almost killed her friend and her lover.  
  
'More nightmares to plague me, I guess.' Jaguar thought dryly. 'It's not like you don't deserve them. How many times did you fuck up in your life?' She shook her head, dispelling the anger and refocused tiered eyes on the page.  
  
That was when she felt a warm hand on her forearm. Looking up she saw Thorn.  
  
"Thorn? What's wrong?"  
  
"Jaguar. I've been thinking and...and I don't want to forget."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't want you to erase my memory or anything like that."  
  
"Are you nuts? You don't want these nightmares." Jaguar replied.  
  
Thorn chewed her bottom lip for a second. "I don't care. This was an important night for the both of us Jaguar. I got to see both sides of the woman that I love."  
  
The last sentence threw Jaguar for a loop. Sure she had heard it while fighting but she wasn't really focused on what Thorn was saying, just that she was saying something.  
  
"Thorn. Please. I don't have the energy to fight but if I have to I'll drag you into the circle myself." Jaguar growled, enforcing into her voice that she was in no mood to argue.  
  
Thorn looked hurt but nodded and walked into the circle. Nichole closed the circle and walked over to Jaguar. She handed the blonde a small talisman.  
  
"You might want to ware this. The others are going to start the spell soon. I don't know when but I know it's going to be soon."  
  
"Okay." Jaguar nodded.  
  
"If the spells going to be done to the whole town then why are you doing it to us?" Freddy asked.  
  
"Because," Jaguar stood, wincing at the throbbing in her stomach. "I'm not sure how good the spell will be and I want to make sure that you guys above anyone else," 'Good job following the Code!' "Is free." She rummaged through her bag for a moment before pulling out a dagger, a candle, two small bowls and an incense burner. "Nichole. Go get me some dirt and water."  
  
Nichole took the bowls and dashed off as Jaguar reached into her pocket and took out a miniature compass. Checking it quickly she found the four cardinal directions, put the compass away and placed the candle on the south point of the circle. "Smaek." A small spark bounced from her fingertip to the wick and the candle glowed softly. Taking the burner she lit the incenses, set that in the eastern point then backed away. Nichole came back quickly and placed the water in the western point then the dirt in the northern.  
  
"Ready?" Nichole asked.  
  
Jaguar let out a deep breath and nodded. She grabbed the dagger, stood with it strait out in front of her and began to walk clockwise around the circle, focusing her energy on strengthening it. Nichole joined in as well, so that when they were finished their trained eyes could make out the gold and dark blue auras. The Hunter took a deep breath and stood near the small bowl of dirt.  
  
"**Alun. Goddess of Serenity. Sotawon. God of Protection. Versona. Goddess of the Dream World. Wipe away the nightmares of those that hath seen them. Give them thy peace where horrors would destroy them. Lay a spell upon their minds to protect them.** Horcat meran so la. **Protect them and let them know thy power.**" Both Jaguar and Nichole's voices were strong and bounced off all the walls as they finished the chant.  
  
The group inside the circle looked around as they felt something tickle their minds. Like a thunderbolt a feeling of nothing struck them, followed by sweet comfort as the memories of that night disappeared. They slipped to the ground, eyes glazed over and goofy smiles on all their faces.  
  
At that moment Jaguar and Nichole felt something try to get them but their talismans began to glow and protected them from the spell. The two took a breath and began to walk counter clockwise around the circle, pulling back the energy into themselves. Jaguar felt slightly light headed, as did Nichole but both ignored it and quickly cleaned everything up and put it away.  
  
"So they won't remember anything of tonight?"  
  
"No. And they won't remember anything that I had told them before tonight of Cú, Aamngreka or any of that." Nichole nodded.  
  
As soon as they had gotten everything put up and changed so their bandages weren't visible the group began to come out of their trance and were looking around.  
  
"What happened? How did we get here?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The last thing I remember is going to sleep at the hotel." Freddy replied.  
  
"Well you guys, we had gone to the festival and had such a good time I guess everything just flew by and before you knew it we were here." Jaguar replied easily, hoping they took the lie.  
  
Most believed it, not sure what else to take, but Velma didn't seem convinced. Thankfully though she didn't say anything and Jaguar had a feeling that she wouldn't.  
  
'I don't have a lot of time to waste. I have to go and clean everything up and by this time tomorrow I'll be,'  
  
"Does anyone want something to drink or eat?"  
  
"Yeah." Everyone said as one.  
  
Thorn turned to Jaguar. "Jaguar. Will you help me?"  
  
"Uhh...sure." The Hunter stood, biting back wince that wanted to rise, and followed her girlfriend into the kitchen. As soon as they were out of sight Thorn turned and looked at Jaguar. "Are you all right Jaguar? You look out of it."  
  
"I'm fine, love. Just tiered is all."  
  
"If your sure?"  
  
"Yes. Now come on. We got some hungry friends that want food." They began to bustle around the kitchen. As Jaguar put the water on the stove Thorn piped up again.  
  
"Hey. Where are Celeb, Nathaniel and Rose?"  
  
Jaguar stopped. Momentarily her mind was flooded with Nathaniel's death and she almost dropped the teakettle but she quickly brought herself back. "They umm...h-had to back home."  
  
"Really? I'm going to miss them."  
  
"So am I." The Hunter replied sullenly. She closed her eyes and willed away the tears that wanted to break free.  
  
Thorn noticed the change in her love's actions and walked over to her. Wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her close she made the woman look at her; oblivious to Thorn was that she was rubbing against the wound that she herself gave the taller woman not seven hours ago. "Jaguar. Somethin' is seriously wrong. What is it? I want you to trust me."  
  
"I can't Thorn. Not right now. Maybe never." With that Jaguar pulled from Thorn's arms and went back to work. Thorn stared at the woman, but seeing that she'd get nothing decided to go back to work, hoping that Jaguar would be able to talk to her.  
  
"Hey! What's taking so long in there?" Freddy called.  
  
"We're coming!" Thorn yelled back. She placed the sandwiches on the tray as Jaguar filled cups full of hot water then cocoa mix then placed the drinks on another tray and both walked out. The minute the trays were set down everyone dove for food. "Relax guys. We can make more."  
  
"Yeah. But, like, we're really hungry." Shaggy replied.  
  
"You're always hungry Shaggy." Freddy laughed. The group lapsed into comfortable silence, each mouth too full of food or drink to do anything else.  
  
Nichole and Jaguar pulled away from the rest of the group.  
  
"How are you holding up?" Jaguar asked.  
  
"Fine. 'Cuz I'm not the one that got stabbed, fried and nearly killed all in one night."  
  
"Hey. It wasn't orthodox but it was effective."  
  
"When have you ever been orthodox?" Nichole countered playfully. Jaguar only shrugged good-naturedly and turned to look at the others.  
  
"At least they're safe. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to any of them."  
  
"Especially Thorn."  
  
"Yeah." They too lapsed into silence and watched. The two knew that this would be the last time they saw the group for a long time, maybe forever. Who knew? The only thing they did was that they had to leave tonight. "Come on. We gotta get packed then make it out to the site to clean up. I wanna cremate Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel then take them back to their home." Nichole nodded. They stole away upstairs and no one noticed their departure. It wasn't long before they crept back downstairs and stood by the door. Jaguar leaned against the doorway and sighed. "It ain't goin' to be easy to say good bye."  
  
"Then don't."  
  
"But I just can't pick up and leave." Jaguar snapped back quietly.  
  
"Make up your mind all ready, jeez." Nichole threw her hands into the air in mock anger. While her hands dropped to the sides a figure moved into the hallway, scaring the two werewolves.  
  
"Sorry to scare you guys." Daphne smiled. "What are you doing here?"  
  
The two looked at each other then the red headed woman. "Uhh," But they weren't able to say anything as Daphne spoke again.  
  
"Where are you guys going?"  
  
"Now or never Becca." Nichole whispered under her breath.  
  
"Wish I could op for the latter." The blonde whispered back before turning to Daphne. "Nichole and I gotta...go...see someone." Nichole slapped her forehead.  
  
"This late at night?"  
  
"Yes. Well they won't be here tomorrow." Nichole added easily.  
  
"Oh. Well all right. See ya guys later." Daphne walked back into the front room.  
  
Jaguar and Nichole stared after her in stupefied shock. "Becca. Is...brainlessness an after effect of the spell?"  
  
"I think so Nichole. God I hope so." The two snuck outside and silently they made their way to the outskirts of the town then to the concert grounds. It had been roped off from the entire town. On first glance it would look as if no one was guarding it but in the bushes and trees the two werewolves made out the outlines of a few changelings that were looking out in the shadows.  
  
Nodding to them Jaguar and Nichole stepped over the ropes and made their way to the center of the earlier carnage. The place smelled strongly of rotting flesh and bugs were all ready starting to feast on the mutilated corpses. The two set their bags down on a clear part of ground and inspected everything that was going on. A few of the changelings from earlier was trying their hardest to clean up the gore and fix everything but most were still beginners. The few that were quite skilled had their hands full trying to keep the less skilled from bumbling things.  
  
A teenager, looking to be twenty winters, turned and trotted up to them. He had short-cropped red hair and large green eyes and he seemed friendly enough Jaguar thought.  
  
"Hello Seamus." Nichole nodded.  
  
"Top o' the evenin' to ye Nichole." The boy's accent left little to the imagination where he was originally from. Jaguar noted his lean form and the faint freckles across his face. The Hunter also noted that the emerald orbs were now focused intently on her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ye 're the famous Jaguar?"  
  
"Didn't know I was famous?"  
  
"O' course ye are. Famous as Cú was but where he was famous for bein' cruel, ye are famous for bein' helpful."  
  
"Helpful?"  
  
"Yes. You're really well known for all ye've done."  
  
"And what have I done that is so great?" Jaguar asked. She didn't usually like people giving her credit, that's not why she became a Hunter. 'And you don't like it because you don't deserve it.' The Hunter sighed inwardly. 'Yeah. That too.'  
  
Seamus' voice cut through to her. "Well ye bein' the only one smart 'nough to actually leave this hell is a good start."  
  
"I wasn't smart. I just wanted to survive. Now if you'll excuse me. I got work to do." She brushed past him and walked towards the tattered stage.  
  
Nichole noticed that Seamus looked hurt. She knew that the boy had a crush on the blonde woman and that little bite had been a strike to his heart. "Don't think anything of it Seamus. She's just under a lot of pressure right now."  
  
"Ye think I got a chance Nichole?"  
  
Nichole sighed and shook her head. "No. She's got someone and besides...she's battin' for the other team." The redhead looked at her confused but Nichole didn't feel like elaborating at the moment so she went to join her friend. The woman was all ready beginning three small fires that were undoubtedly the remains of Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel. Nichole stopped far enough away from Jaguar to give her space but close enough to examine her. The golden eyes looked at the three fires with a wash of emotions that changed so fast it made the Nichole's head spin. Broad shoulders were stiff as their owner hunched close to the flames, whispering a final prayer to the three long departed souls.  
  
Jaguar fought back the tears that had wanted to fall for some time now. She had failed one again. She had also broken a promise. 'I'm sorry Alanna. I had promised to look after your sister and brother but I failed. And I'm sorry Dirk. Your only son is dead though I had sworn to watch over him.' Jaguar bowed her head and asked that the Gods bless the spirits of the three that had traveled with her and the spirits of the village that had been lost four years ago.  
  
Nichole, seeing that the woman was done, or at least close to it, decided to step closer. She hesitantly set her hand on the Hunter's shoulder. "Jaguar?"  
  
"What Nichole?"  
  
"You want me to get some jars for their ashes?"  
  
Jaguar only nodded, never taking her eyes off of the flames at all. Her heart was cracking but she knew that she had to keep her emotions in check if she was to get anything done.  
  
Nichole ran off and quickly came back with three clay jars. "Sorry. There wasn't anything else."  
  
"It's fine." Jaguar replied simply. As soon as the fires had burnt out she scooped up each pile of ashes and put them into separate jars. Thinking quickly she picked up a charred stick then wrote an R, N, and C on the jar that contained the appropriate powder. After placing them safely in the folds of her jacket and away from the hustle and bustle Jaguar turned to look at what needed to be done. "This is going to be a long night."  
  
~*~  
  
The sun had nearly come up by the time everything was cleaned. All of the blood was gone, the benches were fixed as was the stage and the stench of death had begun to waft away with the wind.  
  
Fifteen tiered bodies plopped down on the wooden benches and relaxed.  
  
"God. When I get back to Thorn's I swear I'll sleep for two days." Nichole groaned, popping her back.  
  
"So would I but we gotta leave. Remember?"  
  
"Damn." The older woman grumbled.  
  
The others looked up at the Hunter who stared back at them, wondering what they wanted. It was Seamus who spoke up.  
  
"Jaguar. We were wonderin' what ye wanted us to do."  
  
"What do ya mean?" The Hunter asked, truly confused.  
  
"Well we've been livin' under Cú for awhile and we don't know anything else."  
  
"Go back to your families." Jaguar replied.  
  
"Some of us don't have them." A girl replied sullenly. The Hunter looked at her and thought seriously for a moment, knowing full well what happened to their families.  
  
"Then find someone that you know, friends, and stay with them."  
  
"Can't some of us come with you?" Someone else piped up.  
  
"Why me?" Jaguar asked.  
  
"Because..." A teenage boy started but trailed off as he realized he didn't truly have an answer.  
  
Jaguar raised an eyebrow, thinking again. "Let me think about it. I have to go finish some thing up and when I get back I'll give you an answer. If I say yes or no you should still go and get your things."  
  
"What about Cú's house?" The girl from earlier asked.  
  
"Good question." Jaguar replied. She scratched her chin. "I dunno. There are a lot of things in there that could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands."  
  
"Like the **Metahari**." Someone replied absentmindedly.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The coven that Cú was in." Nichole replied.  
  
"Shit. And I didn't know this why?" Jaguar demanded, more to herself then anyone.  
  
"Not everyone knew. How the hell did you know Jacky?" Nichole looked at the one that had brought it up.  
  
"Umm..." The young girl gulped at being in the spotlight. "I had overheard him talking to someone else in his coven."  
  
"Did you catch his name?"  
  
"Desmond. Desmond...something or other."  
  
"Desmond Cuutilini?" Jaguar asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Great." Jaguar grumbled. "You know how dangerous they are? These **Metahari**?"  
  
"Supposedly real dangerous."  
  
"Who knew about it?"  
  
"In our clan? Other then Cú there was Dredge, Ryan and...Arabella."  
  
"Well. Dredge is dead. I saw to that. Ryan and Arabella must have got off when they saw Cú die. Fuck." Jaguar leaned back. "Well now I got another group to find. Great!"  
  
"You don't have to do it right at this second Rebecca. They aren't planning anything."  
  
"How do you know, Nikky?"  
  
"Because I was someone else that knew about them." The woman replied quietly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I was another person that knew about them." She lifted up her shirt to show a mark that would normally be hidden. It was an eye inside a pentagram. "This is the mark of the **Metahari**."  
  
"Can we even trust you?" Jacky asked.  
  
"I've seen what they do. And I don't want to be apart of it anymore."  
  
"What about that mark?" Someone snarled.  
  
"It'll be a constant reminder of the fuck up I had become."  
  
"All right." Jaguar raised her voice above other protests to stem them, cutting her friend some slack. But she threw her a 'we are going to talk' look, which Nichole nodded to. "I'll take the things from Cú's house that we'll need to look for the **Metahari** then after that burn the house."  
  
"Won't people notice?"  
  
"The house is far from town. I don't think they will, but if they do then we'll just make it up. For now just get what you'll need and we'll meet up with you later."  
  
They all silently agreed and split up. Jaguar retrieved her jacket and together she and Nichole made their way back to Thorn's house. They noticed as they walked up the front walk way the lights were out and the Mystery Machine was still in the driveway. "Guess the gang's stayin' over again." The blonde noticed. The two quickly walked up the front door. Thankfully it was still unlocked so they snuck in, closed the door silently and moved upstairs. Inside the room they flopped down on the beds. "Now the fun begins."  
  
~*~  
  
Scooby, Shaggy and the others were fast asleep, curled up in blankets on the floor, couch or chair. Thorn, Dusk and Luna were upstairs in Thorn's room asleep.  
  
Or at least Thorn was trying to get to sleep but her mind was wondering greatly. Why couldn't she remember anything of today? The last thing she could recall was falling asleep upstairs. Usually she remembered a concert day but for some reason she was drawing a blank.  
  
And what was wrong with Jaguar? The woman seemed distant, almost haunted, for lack of a better term. There was something that her love wasn't telling her and she wanted to know what it was. But would the Hunter ever tell her?  
  
The singer stopped her pondering when she heard footsteps outside her door. Getting up and quietly exiting she noticed a light under Jaguar's door. Creeping towards it she knocked softly. There was a quick shuffling of something then silence before the door opened to show Jaguar.  
  
"Thorn? What is it?"  
  
"I just wanted to see if you were all right?"  
  
"Yeah. Umm," The Hunter gazed back behind her to Nichole who nodded somberly. "Thorn we gotta talk."  
  
"Can't this wait till,"  
  
"No. No it can't." Jaguar replied.  
  
"All right." The two stepped out into the hall, Jaguar closing the door behind her and crossed to Thorn's room. Inside Thorn sat on the bed as the blonde leaned against the door, eyes down cast and body stiff.  
  
"Jaguar? What is it? You've been acting really strange. And where have you been the past couple hours?" Thorn's voice was low as not to wake her friends.  
  
"I was working somewhere. But that's not what I want to talk to you about." The Hunter let out a deep breath and crossed the floor to sit next to her girlfriend. 'This ain't goin' to be easy.' Letting out a deep breath the woman began, praying to any God to make this easy. "Thorn. I...care about you and wouldn't do anything to hurt you if I could prevent that." Thorn nodded. "But I know this is going to hurt you and I'm incredibly sorry for it."  
  
Thorn felt her throat constrict at words. 'This is going to hurt if she says it like that.' "What is it?"  
  
Jaguar watched as Thorn steeled herself before diving ahead. "I have to leave."  
  
"All right. When?"  
  
"Well. As soon as all of our things are together and a few more things are done, hopefully before sunset."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"There are things that I have to make up for. I've been running from a lot of things in my life and it's about time that I face them."  
  
"Where will you go?"  
  
"I dunno." Jaguar turned away from Thorn, wincing and leaned forward. The wince didn't fall on blind eyes but Thorn had other things on her mind. "I'm going to go bur-visit Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel. Then after that I'll be trying to redeem myself."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Like I said, I've done a lot of things in my life Thorn. Things that can never be forgiven and on this little journey I hope I can at least find peace."  
  
Thorn nodded. "Like, will I see you again?"  
  
"Dunno." Jaguar looked down at the ring on her right hand and an idea popped into her head. Slipping it off her own finger she slipped it on to Thorn's right ring finger. "Here. Even if I don't see you for.fifty years," Jaguar joked, trying to lighten the mood slightly. It worked. "You'll have this. Inside there's an inscription that mean 'I'll always be with you.' which is true. No matter where you go you'll always have a part of me with you." Thorn looked down at the simple band. It was a little big for her finger but comfortable. "Ya know. People could get the wrong idea about this." The singer smiled.  
  
Jaguar smiled back. "Yeah well, you're mine. And I'm yours."  
  
Smiling green eyes met warm golden ones. "Don't want it any other way."  
  
~*~  
  
Nichole raised her head from the pillow that it had been lying on and watched a sad but less worried Jaguar walk in.  
  
"Everything set?" The woman yawned. Jaguar smirked at her friend and nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Time to go." They gathered up their bags and walked silently out the door and out of the house. No words were passed between either woman as they made their way to 143 so. Maverick St. Being the still early twilight hours few things stirred except the cool autumn wind and the occasional small animal.  
  
"Hey Becca?" Nichole asked quietly, barely breaking the morning stillness. A grunt from the Hunter was the only given evidence that she was listening. "Where will we go? After we go back to the fort?"  
  
There was a silence that was as quiet as Jaguar's mind was loud. Thoughts were racing around her head, making her dizzy and a headache start to creep up. "I'm going to go to back to China, then England."  
  
"But I thought you didn't ever want to go to those places again."  
  
"I didn't. But I don't want to keep running." The woman looked up at the stars. "Too long I've always had to keep checking over my shoulder to make sure that no one was there, no vengeful spirits wanting to destroy me. Not anymore."  
  
Nichole looked at the younger woman in shock. She never knew the kinds of things that Jaguar went through, none of it showed. Not until now anyways. Golden eyes that usually burned like fire were cold and haunted. Up till now Nichole didn't understand how much last night's fight had taken out of the Hunter until she saw the woman's eyes. If it were true what they said, that eyes are the windows to one's soul, then Jaguar's soul would need a miracle to be saved. 'I hope on this little trip she'll find just that.'  
  
The rest of the way was spent in relative silence, each too busy with their own thoughts to do anything else. Seamus, Jacky and the others were standing outside, looking up at the large house as the two women came up.  
  
"You guys got your stuff outta there?" Jaguar asked.  
  
"Yeah. All that's left is the things that Cú owned." Jacky said.  
  
"'Kay. Wait out here while we go look around." The Hunter replied. The teenagers nodded as she and Nichole made their way up the walk to the front door.  
  
Jaguar took a deep breath and opened the door. Nichole laid a hand on the Hunter's forearm, offering silent support as they stepped inside.  
  
"Here we go." They split up and began a search of the main level. Nothing there except some bills and a few letters from friends. Jaguar copied down the names and addresses of the friends before moving on.  
  
"Find anything Nichole?" Jaguar asked as they met up again.  
  
"Nothing that'll help. Let's check upstairs then down." Jaguar nodded and together the two made their ascent up the flight of stairs. A memory bombarded the Hunter of only a few nights ago when Rose, Nathaniel and Celeb were still with her. Now they were gone, their life fire snuffed out in one of the worst ways. Her wandering mind made the Hunter falter but she quickly caught herself and continued up the stairs. If Nichole noticed the slip she didn't say anything for which Jaguar was grateful. 'I forgot how it was to spend time with her. Five years really is a long time.'  
  
When they reached the top landing they stopped. "I know what's in this room." She pointed to the closest door on the left. "But I don't know what's in the others."  
  
"Well, in those two," Nichole pointed to the two next to the one that Jaguar had indicated. "Those belonged to Arabella and Ryan, that one," She moved to across the hall. "Belongs to me."  
  
"You huh? All right. Go get your things and I'll go check in the study." Jaguar said. Nichole nodded and the two went their separate ways.  
  
The Hunter opened the door and this time instead of seeing an empty room she saw the study in all its glory, or whatever would be left after a small tornado ripped through. Papers were strewn everywhere, chairs and lamps were knocked over and statues were broken.  
  
"Either Ryan or Arabella went through this place, and grabbed everything important or this room just got hit with the world's smallest tornado." Jaguar sighed but decided to look around anyway. Walking over to the desk and began to shift through the debris. Nothing jumped out at her. All there was were bills, notes he made for Aamngreka and just various letters that would help her in no way with finding the Metahari. "Damn." She began to search the bookshelves, cabinets, and anything else but came up with the same results. Nothing. "I knew there was a reason that I didn't like Ryan. Never met Arabella but I don't like her either."  
  
"Guessing you didn't find anything?" Nichole asked as she walked back into the study and set her bag at her feet.  
  
"There's nothing here that can help."  
  
"You wanna check downstairs?"  
  
"Nothin' up here. Might as well." They walked out of the room and down to the basement. There Jaguar took out the brick, put in her own necklace and waited for the door to open. When it did the two were met with a big surprise.  
  
"They didn't touch a thing."  
  
"No. I'm not even sure they could get in."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because the one you got...was the only one that Cú gave out."  
  
"Then how did Ryan get in here earlier?"  
  
"Got locked in. The dude was pissing me off so I decided to keep him in there."  
  
"God Nikky." Jaguar smirked.  
  
"What do we do?"  
  
"Get everything that we could use against the **Metahari**." Jaguar replied. The two set to work into getting the things out of the room quickly. Nichole began to grab the books and items that she knew would help with the Metahari as Jaguar searched for other things.  
  
That was when she came upon the wall of cages. Some of the animals were simply rats, bats, cats, and couple dogs, nothing big. But a few of the animals weren't normal. Some were splices of animals in the other cages or animals that few had seen.  
  
"Jesus. These things shouldn't even be alive." Jaguar replied, looking in on one creature. It was gruesome looking, with the snout and body of a cat, ears of a dog and tail of what looked to be a fox.  
  
"What are we going to do with them?" Nichole asked.  
  
"The regulars we'll simply set free but the rest of them...we'll keep them here and, well,"  
  
"Kill them." Nichole finished.  
  
"Yeah. These things shouldn't be alive. Even look at some of them. They're suffering."  
  
"All right." The other woman nodded. "You're right."  
  
"Take the bags upstairs while I start stacking these cages outta here." Nichole nodded, grabbing the bags and moving upstairs while Jaguar took the cages and loaded them outside.  
  
'Jaguar.'  
  
The Hunter stopped dead in her tracks and looked around.  
  
'Jaguar.'  
  
"No. No." She shook her head and worked faster to get everything outside. She didn't need this now.  
  
'You can never run from me Jaguar. I'll always be with you.' The voice said.  
  
"Leave me alone. I don't want you here."  
  
'I'm never leaving you. I'm apart of you.'  
  
"You may be apart of me. But that doesn't mean it'll stay like that."  
  
'You can never get rid of me. You do and you will die.'  
  
"I die. You die. No big deal."  
  
'We die so you spend all eternity in Limbo.'  
  
"But you spend all eternity in hell. Nice trade off in my opinion."  
  
"Jaguar?" The Hunter turned to see Nichole.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're talking to yourself."  
  
Jaguar smirked. "I know. Come on. We gotta hurry up. Don't want everyone to see the bon fire that we're about to create."  
  
~*~  
  
When all of the cargo had been placed out of the house Jaguar and Nichole set to work on burning it up. The flames flew high and was a sure bet that someone from town would see them.  
  
But just incase someone came then the students would hide with the bags while Jaguar and Nichole watched over the blaze, making sure it never strayed too far.  
  
The two werewolves looked up at the orange and red pillar as it destroyed the vile home. On the winds that were sweeping over the grass the two could almost here the howls of the animals that had been left inside. It made their hearts tug and break but it was for the best...right?  
  
Right.  
  
"What now Rebecca?" Nichole asked once the flames had begun to shrink.  
  
Jaguar was silent for a moment, trying to decide before taking a breath. "We clean this up then leave."  
  
"That it, huh? Thought there'd be more."  
  
"Nope." Jaguar gruffed.  
  
They stayed in silence until the flames were completely burned out and all that was left was ash.  
  
"I was thinking we'd use a wind spell. Just blow all this away." Nichole suggested.  
  
"No. Just let them take care of it. We gotta go."  
  
Nichole nodded and together the two gathered up the things that they had taken and moved over to where the other changelings had been hiding.  
  
"Ready to go?" Nichole asked. The kids, teenagers and assorted young adults nodded.  
  
As she looked at the Jaguar realized that the oldest person in the group was no more then 24, which was Nichole. But she herself was the leader; a twenty-year-old Hunter with more baggage on her shoulders then an airport. How was she supposed to find these kids homes and keep them alive until she does?  
  
Jaguar turned back to look at the wreckage. Determination took place of the fear and uncertainty. "I'll do it anyway I can." Came the quiet reply. "Let's go guys." She said. With quiet but calm chatter the band of changelings picked up their things and walked to the outskirts of town and from there...the world.  
  
~*~  
  
Scooby and Shaggy devoured their breakfast so quickly the others feared that they would choke but as always the duo cleaned up every single crumb and graced the others with a rumbling belch.  
  
"Ahh. That was, like, tasty. Right Scooby?" Shaggy asked, patting his bulging stomach.  
  
"Reah." Scooby licked his lips then burped again. "Roh! Ruse re." He laughed.  
  
"It still amazes me how much you two can eat." Mr. McKnight laughed along with the others.  
  
"Well with as tasty as food as that it's just, like, begging to be eaten." Shaggy offered with a smile.  
  
After lunch Freddy helped Thorn and Dusk to clean as the others started to pack up.  
  
"Hey Thorn. Can you, like, hand me that dishtowel?" Dusk asked.  
  
"Sure." Thorn handed her friend the towel. That was when Dusk caught sight of the ring.  
  
"Whoa. Where did you get that gold, Thorn?"  
  
"Oh umm." Thorn smiled.  
  
"Hey. Wasn't Jaguar wearing a ring that looked like that?" Freddy asked as he put up a stack of plates.  
  
"Yeah. She asked me to wear it."  
  
"Where did she go? I didn't see her, Nathaniel or anyone else of their group this morning."  
  
"Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel had already left earlier and Jaguar and Nichole...just left." Thorn replied sadly.  
  
Dusk cocked her head at her friend's sadness. "You going to be okay Thorn? You and Jaguar were pretty close."  
  
"Yeah. I'll be fine." The raven-haired woman offered a smile. Dusk and Freddy accepted it and turned back to cleaning up. Thorn looked out the window towards the town. The ring on her finger was slightly heavy and warm and the singer couldn't help but smile and think of what she and Jaguar had said about it.  
  
'You're mine. And I'm yours.' Thorn smile grew sad as she thought that she might never see her love again but at the same time she knew that fate wouldn't allow their paths to stray to far from each other.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So that's the last chapter! Or is it? Okay no it's not. I'll have the next, and last, chapter up soon.  
  
Until then review and tell me what you thought about this chapter.  
  
C-ya later! 


	14. Together Again

CHAPTER: Together Again  
  
AUTHOR: IrishTomboy06 RATING: R PAIRING: Thorn/OC DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did. FEEDBACK: Welcome WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW! Also, this chapter doesn't have graphic sex but it...hints towards it. So if you're too young or fear that you'll get in trouble DON'T read this.  
  
Cheers exploded as red, purple and green smoke burst from the ground, concealing the three singers as they got off stage.  
  
"Good job girls." A gangly man with long tied back hair and a soul patch patted the three on their backs as they came off.  
  
"Thanks Billy." Dusk smirked. "This is the last one of our tour then we can go home."  
  
"Yeah. Back to a 'normal' life. Or whatever that is for rock stars like us." Luna added with a wry grin.  
  
Thorn smiled at her friends. She stretched, popping her back and sighed. For about three years now they'd been major celebrates. Things seemed to be going their way, what with C.D. sails through the roof, plenty of adoring fans and now tours that only seemed to heighten their popularity.  
  
As the three started to put away their gear Billy came up to Thorn and handed her a single rose with a note attached. "Hey Thorn. You got another one."  
  
"Another note?" Thorn asked as she took the note and flower. Another thing that had been happening since the start of the tour Thorn had been getting notes and small presents from a guy the band had dubbed Mr. H. Not that original or creative but it worked.  
  
"So. What's it say?" Dusk asked.  
  
Thorn opened the card and read it.  
  
"I've admired you from afar,  
  
As you've begun to glow more brightly and beautiful then any star.  
  
I wish to meet you but am afraid,  
  
But for this rare chance at your feet my question is laid.  
  
A simple meeting is all I lend,  
  
If you wish to agree to this request then send your answer with friend." Thorn raised an eyebrow. "Friend?"  
  
"Aye, madam." A thick Scottish accent made the woman turn. Standing in front of her was a gangly man with short-cropped red hair and sparkling eyebrows. "My friend truly wishes to meet ye."  
  
Thorn thought for a minute. "Is this some sort of date?"  
  
"No Miss. Thorn. As it said in the note this is only a simple meeting."  
  
Thorn looked down at the ring on her finger. 'Jaguar.' "I don't know."  
  
"Come on Thorn. I don't think Jaguar'll mind. You're just going to meet a fan. You're not going to have a date or anythin' like that." Dusk replied.  
  
Though still uncertain the singer agreed. "Great. I'll go and send the word on." He smiled and bowed then quickly left.  
  
"Wait! Where am I supposed to go!?" But the man was all ready gone. "That was strange."  
  
"Yeah. I'll be right back. I just got to go check on something." Luna disappeared in the direction the man had and caught up with him. "So is everything ready?"  
  
"Aye. Everything is set up in the room."  
  
"Good. Hopefully this will make her a little bit happier."  
  
"Same on our side too." The man looked down at his watch. "Oi! I had better go. Bring her to the room in about an hour."  
  
"Right. I'll tell Dusk. See ya Seamus."  
  
"You as well Miss. Luna." Seamus bowed and slinked back into the shadows.  
  
Dusk smiled and looked at her watch. "Oh Thorn is going to be so happy. After she kills us."  
  
~*~  
  
The Hex Girls pushed their way into the hotel, sighing with relief when they finally made it into the sanctuary of the blessed lobby.  
  
"Come on girls. Let's go get packed." Thorn replied.  
  
"Oh crap." Dusk said suddenly, hitting her forehead. "Luna. We forgot our stuff back at the concert hall."  
  
"Oh yeah. Damn. Hey Thorn go on up to the room and get started. Me and Dusk'll be right back."  
  
"Are you sure?" Thorn asked.  
  
"Sure we're sure. Go on up." Dusk smirked.  
  
"All right. I'll see you later, Sisters." Thorn turned and began to walk to the elevator while Dusk and Luna made to go back outside. As soon as Thorn was inside the shaft and the door was closed they stopped.  
  
"I am not going back out there."  
  
"Neither am I. Come on. Let's get up to our room and get some sleep. I'm beat." Dusk pulled from her pocket a card key to the other room they had rented out.  
  
~*~  
  
Thorn opened the door and sighed, glad to be back in the safety of her room. In two days she'd be back home and return to a half normal life. Back to her own bed in her own house in her own town. The closest thing she could find to real peace.  
  
Looking up the singer stopped dead in her tracks. All around the room were candles of various shapes and sizes, casting the space in a warm glow. On one of the beds, Thorn's to be more precise; there were hundreds of rose petals, covering the bed spread in a blanket of crimson red silk. Next to her bed was a table set up with various types of snacks, like chocolate covered strawberries and grapes, and in a bucket of ice there was a bottle of champagne. The entire room practically screamed romance.  
  
Suddenly strong arms wrapped around the woman's waist and pulled her back into a wall of warm flesh. "I hope you like this surprise." A husky, but all too familiar voice brushed the woman's ear.  
  
Thorn gasped and turned in the arms. Green eyes fell onto a face she'd never thought she see again except in her dreams. "Oh god."  
  
"Hey love."  
  
"Jaguar!" Thorn smiled and threw her arms around the woman's powerful neck. She kissed the tanned flesh under her mouth and nuzzled it. "I can't believe it's you."  
  
"I'm glad to see you too."  
  
Abruptly Thorn pulled back and hit Jaguar squarely in the shoulder. The Hunter yelped, more in surprise then pain. "What was that for?"  
  
"You're Mr. H?"  
  
"Excuse me?" The blonde woman's voice was laced with a laugh.  
  
"All this time you were sending me those gifts and notes." Jaguar nodded with a small smile on her lips. "Don't do that! God I felt bad promising that I was yours then coming here." The twinkle in the emerald eyes took out most of the sting.  
  
"Then why did you come?" A silvery eyebrow rose.  
  
"I..." But the woman didn't truly know why.  
  
Jaguar saw her lover's dilemma and laughed. "It's fine. I'm glad to know that you still consider yourself mine. Like I consider myself yours." She placed a gently kiss on the singer's lips.  
  
Even after all these years Thorn was surprised at the sensuality and tenderness that the Hunter could display. Here was a woman that had probably seen things that the singer could only have nightmares about, who knew how to fight tooth and claw and yet her kisses and touches were like a butterfly's wing against her skin.  
  
Jaguar picked the woman up and carried her over to the bed. Laying her down Jaguar stripped off her jacket to expose nothing more then a muscle t. She placed a knee on the bed and leaned forward. Grabbing a handful of petals she brought them over Thorn's exposed abdomen and let the natural scarlet silk float down to the alabaster skin, caressing it and sending pleasurable jolts through the younger woman. Jaguar let her hand follow trail, fingertips stroking the skin almost reverently.  
  
"Still beautiful as ever." The Hunter whispered, as if afraid speaking too loud would break the moment.  
  
"I was about to say the same for you." Thorn pulled Jaguar down for a kiss. It started out slow but passion intervened. The Hunter's tongue traced the singer's full bottom lips, asking silently for entrance, which was easily given. Both women moaned at the feeling of their lover's tongue rubbing and dancing against their own.  
  
Soon the need for air became a necessity and they pulled away from each other. Their foreheads touched and for a moment they only looked into one another's eyes.  
  
Thorn finally took the time to study her lover's face. Her face seemed harder, and a faint scar was apparent but the eyes that she last remembered being haunted were now full of love. Reaching up she traced the scar with her fingertips, tracing it down to the woman's full lips.  
  
Jaguar closed her eyes, both enjoying the contact and willing away the memory of the scar. 'This isn't the time or place to remember things like that Jaguar. You have the woman you love in your arms. Don't think about it!' Opening golden eyes back up the Hunter was caught in an emerald gaze.  
  
The singer leaned forward for another kiss, this time rolling over so they were both on their side and reached for the clasp on her dress, slipping it from her body. "I've missed you so much Jaguar."  
  
Without having to say it the Hunter understood and leaned forward, her body wanting just as much as what her lover did.  
  
~*~  
  
After an hour of love making the two lay quietly in the bed, Jaguar spooned against Thorn's back. Both felt content for the first time in a long time.  
  
The Hunter looked down at the woman in her arms and couldn't help but feel happiness fill her heart. She leaned forward and kissed Thorn's shoulder, smiling at the goose bumps that rose there.  
  
"Stop." Thorn laughed quietly and turned over so she was looking at the woman. "That tickles."  
  
"I have to remember that." Jaguar said gently. For a moment they simply stared at one another before the Hunter broke the silence again. "Do you want some champagne?"  
  
"Sure." Both women sat up and Thorn leaned against the wall as Jaguar poured both of them a glass. "Jaguar?"  
  
"Hmm." The Hunter asked after taking a sip.  
  
"Where have you been these past five years?"  
  
"Oh, umm...all around."  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Do you still...I don't know how to ask this."  
  
"Then just ask." Jaguar said tenderly.  
  
"All right." Thorn set her glass on the side table and gazed into golden eyes. "Do you have nightmares about the night you fought Cú?"  
  
Jaguar froze, her entire body tensing up. "You...you remember that?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"But, how?"  
  
"It just slowly came to me over the past couple years. Now answer me. Do you have nightmares?"  
  
Jaguar sighed and leaned back a little. "Yeah. Every once and awhile I get them."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it? And what you've been doing?"  
  
The blonde gazed at the singer. She saw determination and love there that made the Hunter's walls crack. Scratching her forehead she shrugged. "There's not much to say. I traveled back to Rose, Nathaniel and Celeb's home to b-bury them. Then I went back to England and China."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Thorn can we talk about this another time? I just want to be with you and forget everything else." Thorn nodded. Jaguar smiled and kissed her soundly on the mouth. "Thank you." She took a sip of champagne then set it down on the side table. "C'mere." She gathered the younger woman up in her arms and they both sat back, smiling. Jaguar kissed the singer tenderly on her head and began to rock them both.  
  
Thorn wondered what her lover had been up to for the past few years but knew that that would be a subject for another night. This night was for them and them alone. They were in one another's arms. They were together again and nothing else mattered. Her last though before she allowed herself to sink into sleep was that she was finally where she belonged.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Finally. The Final Chapter is up. Short but probably not sweet. I don't know. How was it? As I said before I welcome flames (constructive flames, mind you) because they'll help me with my next one.  
  
If ya think I should make another fic with Jaguar and the gang then tell me if ya want me to.  
  
All right. Later. 


End file.
